It had been so ti since Kahn arrived in this world, and now, the story of Journey to the West he had been telling Zuko and Azula finally reached its conclusion.
"...Tang Sanzang was conferred the title of Sandalwood rit Buddha, and Sun Wukong was conferred the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha..."
NOT [I'm not changing the stories about Sun Wukong because I love this story so much, but if it bothers you, I can work on it and rework the text, turning it into sothing like Don Quixote xd]
Kahn finally finished telling the story of Journey to the West.
After hearing the conclusion, the listeners present all felt a sense of lancholy and emotion.
"Victorious Fighting Buddha... so cool..."
Zuko looked on with longing; although he didn't know what a Buddha was, just hearing the na made it sound incredibly powerful.
"Is that it?"
Azula, however, spoke up with clear dissatisfaction.
"That's it? Sun Wukong actually just got recruited?"
"I thought it would be better if he killed Tang Sanzang, then secretly plotted to overthrow the Jade Emperor and the Tathagata Buddha, and then beca the strongest deity to rule the three realms himself."
"That wouldn't be the sa story at all!" Kahn said, speechless.
Do you know what 'adaptation is not random creation' and 'elaboration is not baseless talk' an?!
He leaned back tactically, a headache already forming.
Azula was still muttering, lost in her brilliant brainstorm.
"It should have been Sun Wukong subduing various forces along the way, making a coback, and conveniently getting rid of the annoying Tang Sanzang!"
Kahn shivered; Azula's thoughts were truly dangerous in every sense of the word.
The few of them exchanged glances, realizing they were still normal.
They tacitly decided to ignore Azula for now and continued their conversation.
"Speaking of which, who is your favorite character in the story?" Ty Lee posed the question.
She then actively answered it herself.
"My favorite is the Queen of the Won's Kingdom; she was so deeply affectionate and so beautiful."
"It's just too regrettable that Tang Sanzang ultimately didn't accept her feelings."
Zuko pointed out, "If he had accepted, the mission would have failed."
"Of course I know that! Mai, what about you?"
Mai answered without thinking, "Sun Wukong."
Zuko imdiately looked surprised and delighted.
"You like Sun Wukong, too?!"
"But it's only natural; after all, he is powerful, brave, resourceful, and he punishes evil while promoting good!"
Zuko was thrilled that Mai's choice was the sa as his, but Mai spoke blandly.
"I just want a subordinate like Sun Wukong."
"I could hand everything over to him, which would save a lot of trouble and be very reassuring."
"...Huh?"
Zuko's expression froze.
Was Mai's focus a bit strange?
"What about Kahn?"
"Of course it's Sun Wukong; the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is the coolest," Kahn said without hesitation.
Which boy hasn't pretended to be Sun Wukong and played with a staff when they were little?
The charm of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is simply undeniable.
Zuko breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Finally, there was a normal person who shared his thoughts.
Kahn was indeed his best friend!
"Hmph, what's Sun Wukong?"
"From beginning to end, he was played like a puppet by the Tathagata Buddha, manipulated at will like a string puppet, and finally even recruited as his subordinate."
Azula, who had sohow returned to a normal mood, interjected into the conversation.
Her words were full of admiration for the Buddha, but what she admired were his so-called sches and thods.
Kahn thought that compared to the straightforward version he had told, the conspiracy theory version of Journey to the West brainstord by netizens would probably be much more to Azula's taste.
Perhaps the conclusion of the story had stirred their emotions, as the few of them began to chat animatedly about the previous plot points.
As they talked, Ty Lee demanded that he tell it all over again from the beginning.
Kahn was a bit resistant; he didn't like such aningless and ti-wasting repetition.
But then, he suddenly had an idea.
"Perhaps I can write this story into a book and publish it."
As soon as he proposed this idea, he felt eager to try.
If the art style of this world wasn't too restrictive, he could take the path of a literary plagiarist.
It would also count as cultural output to another world!
At the very least, publishing a book seed quite cool to him.
The people present, of course, all gave their enthusiastic support.
Even the usually sarcastic Azula, for once, didn't utter any nasty remarks.
They all thought it was a very good idea.
When Kahn told Iroh about this plan, Iroh also found it novel and likewise gave his support.
However, he made sure to emphasize that Kahn's Firebending training must not fall behind.
Iroh had heard parts of the story called Journey to the West that Kahn told.
It was indeed quite interesting, but since he often went to the Royal Palace's war chambers, he had never heard the whole thing.
As for how Kahn could co up with such an intricate story, no one really cared.
They just thought Kahn had a natural talent in that area; it was nothing major.
After all, storytelling was just a minor skill.
Kahn's talent in Bending was what truly deserved more attention.
Speaking of Earthbending, after fighting Kori for a long ti, Kahn had unintentionally picked up a few Earthbending forms.
Then, he suddenly had the idea of trying to use Earthbending forms to Firebend.
He began experinting with the idea in the courtyard.
The result was obvious: it couldn't be done.
However, while Kahn was experinting, Iroh happened to discover him.
He asked in surprise, "Earthbending stances? Where did you learn them from?"
As a forr Fire Nation General who had fought the Earth Kingdom for years, he certainly recognized Earthbending forms.
Kahn briefly explained his spars with Kori and then explained his idea to Iroh.
Finally, he asked curiously, "What exactly is the difference between Earthbending and Firebending?"
"To be able to think this far... not bad."
Iroh first praised Kahn's idea, then said with a chuckle.
"The fundantal difference between the two is not in the bending forms themselves, but in their origin—similar to basic skills."
He conjured a ball of fla in his hand and explained.
"Even without using martial arts forms, we can still bend fire."
"Forms are just a way to help us control the fire better; the sa goes for all Bending."
"As for why you can't bend fire through Earthbending forms, it's simply because the thods and principles are entirely different."
"The ability to Firebend cos from the breath, so learning to control your breathing is a foundational skill for every Firebender."
"While the ability to Earthbend cos from the earth itself; Earthbenders perceive the flow of energy by connecting with the ground beneath their feet."
"The principles behind using the elents are completely different for the two disciplines, so they naturally cannot be interchanged."
Iroh spoke of these theories with ease and eloquence.
He fully demonstrated the profound understanding of the elents possessed by a true bending master.
Problems that were difficult for others to grasp were no challenge at all in his eyes.
It was at this mont that Kahn first glimpsed a tiny fraction of a top-tier bending master's true level.
And most importantly, Iroh was his master.
Truly, it was a massive advantage.
Kahn suddenly understood following Iroh's explanation, but his attention wasn't on the original question anymore.
Instead, he was drawn to one specific sentence.
'Forms are just a way to help us control the fire better.'
In other words, current Firebending forms are just one solution for fire control.
So, are there other solutions, or even an optimal solution?
His thoughts began to diverge wildly.
User Comments
0 comments from readers