Six years had passed.
Lee Wunshin — as they named him — had grown into an unremarkable Earth Kingdom child. Slim, brown-eyed, soft-featured. Just another boy in a small village where life revolved around planting, eating, and sleeping.
But deep within, the real Lee — the reborn soul — had never once stopped working.
Each night, after chores and study, after he'd faked yawns and dragged himself to bed, the true meditation began.
He had made a fortress of his mind.
It started with simple breathing — in, hold, out. Then tuning into the sensations of the body. Then the warmth within.
His own energy.
It came slowly, like learning to move a muscle you'd never used. At first he could only sense it in flashes — in moments of emotional silence or perfect calm. But soon he could shape it, guide it, let it flow.
By six, he could meditate in complete stillness for an hour without moving.
By now, he had learned to quiet his heartbeat, slow his breath to nearly nothing, and feel the ambient energy around him.
The world... pulsed.
Every tree, every stone, every person was a flickering signal in the dark.
He was still no bender. But what he lacked in bending, he replaced with something deeper:
Chi awareness.
Still, the time had come to leave theory behind.
He needed action. Combat. Discipline. Strategy. And for that — he needed a teacher.
But how does a six-year-old with peasant parents get martial training?
Easy.
You manipulate.
He waited for the village festival — when people from nearby towns would visit. Soldiers, merchants, and wanderers. That's when he saw him:
An old man, grizzled and alone, sitting quietly with a small gourd of wine. The way he sat — sharp spine, scanning eyes, the slight twitch in his dominant hand — told Lee everything.
Retired Earth Kingdom soldier. Possibly ex-special forces.
He approached him slowly, clutching a broom.
"Excuse me, sir," he said in his most polite voice. "I heard you used to be strong."
The man blinked. "What?"
"I mean... you look strong. My dad says you're a veteran. I wanna be strong too. Can I sweep your house if you teach me how to punch?"
The old man chuckled. "Sweeping my house won't make you strong."
"No," Lee replied with an innocent smile. "But it'll show I'm serious."
And just like that, his first door opened.
The training began at sunrise.
No dramatic montages. No epic music. Just repetition, sweat, and pain.
Stances. Footwork. Breathing.
At first, the man barely taught him anything — just had him hold horse stance for what felt like hours. But Lee understood. This was a test. Patience. Will.
He endured.
The man's name was Jinsung. He had served in the Earth Kingdom military for decades before retiring to this quiet place. Lee asked questions only when appropriate, but he listened to everything. The way Jinsung spoke about battlefield tension, about reading an opponent's stance, about pressure points...
Chi blocking.
Lee's heart had skipped a beat the first time it was mentioned. He played dumb, of course, but stored every word.
As weeks passed, the training grew more intense.
Strike drills. Evasion drills. Falling correctly. Bone conditioning.
Lee's body began to change. Subtly. Quietly.
He still smiled like the sweet village kid. Still helped his parents with chores. But beneath the surface, Ashen Hellflame was forming.
When he wasn't training, he hunted knowledge.
He visited the old herbalist and asked about ancient forest spirits.
He snuck into the dusty corners of the village elder's hut, memorizing scrolls about the Spirit World.
He learned of Hei Bai — the Black and White Spirit — who had once ravaged villages out of rage, whose fury grew after the burning of sacred forests.
His pulse quickened.
He knew what he had to do.
Not yet. Not soon. But someday, when he was ready, he would face Hei Bai.
And he would win.
Because he wouldn't be some wandering monk or naive warrior.
He would be Ashen Hellflame.
The name echoed in his soul like prophecy.
And even now, as the village children played in the fields, Lee sat in stillness, feeling the wind, the roots, the faint shimmer of the Spirit World.
Preparing.
Always preparing.