Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Rumbling Island Daofei (4)

DING!

[You have found your Martial Path! Congratulations for reaching a new realm of martial prowess!]

As the message popped in front of me, my mind grew clearer. I have realized that absolute power, aggression, and cruelty was not my way.

It was not supposed to be anyone's way. Like the embodiment of all things, balance is what must be striving. And that is my path.

Tai Lung's mind grew sharper, clearer. His vision focused, and everything around him seemed to slow down. 

The weight that had been pressing on his chest was gone. He had realized something enlightening—absolute power, aggression, and cruelty were not his way. His path was one of balance.

Absolute Equilibrium.

The rest of the Daofei, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally began to react. There were still several of them left, and though their numbers had dwindled, they weren't about to let some upstart outsider take them down so easily.

"You're dead, kid!" one of them shouted, a firebender with a crazed look in his eyes. He raised his arms, fire swirling around his hands, forming a massive ball of flame. He hurled it at Tai Lung, confident in the destruction it would cause.

Tai Lung remained calm, his breath steady. As the fireball surged toward him, he shifted his weight slightly, entering the stance of Phoenix Breathing. 

He moved fluidly, as though dancing with the flames, sidestepping the attack just before it reached him. In the same motion, he delivered a powerful strike to the firebender's chest, his fist glowing with Qi. 

The man collapsed instantly, his breath stolen by the precision of the blow.

Another Daofei, this time an earthbender, charged forward, lifting a wall of stone from the ground and sending it crashing toward Tai Lung. 

The attack was brutal, but Tai Lung's new understanding of balance made it easy to counter. 

He let the flow of energy guide him, ducking under the wall of earth as if it were nothing. In a flash, he was at the earthbender's side, striking once to his knee, then to his throat. The man crumpled, gasping for air.

One by one, the remaining Daofei fell, unable to keep up with Tai Lung's newfound mastery. 

Each movement he made was measured, controlled, with neither excess nor deficiency. He was in perfect harmony with his surroundings, his every action a reflection of his philosophy.

Finally, there was only one man left—*Tetsu*, the leader of the Rumbling Island Daofei. He stood in the center of the fortress, arms crossed, watching with narrowed eyes as his men lay defeated around him. 

Tetsu was a large, imposing figure, his body hardened by years of ruthless leadership. His mastery over earthbending had made him feared throughout the peninsula.

Tetsu stepped forward, his expression grim. "So, you think you can just walk in here and wipe us out, huh? You think you're some kind of hero?"

Tai Lung said nothing, his eyes steady on the Daofei leader.

Tetsu clenched his fists, the ground beneath him rumbling in response. "You're just like the rest of them—full of self-righteousness. But without me, without my men, this place would be overrun by real monsters. We keep order here. We maintain the balance."

The words struck Tai Lung, but not in the way Tetsu intended. He understood now. Tetsu *did* maintain a kind of balance, though it was brutal and cruel. But there was a limit, and Tetsu had crossed it. 

He had gone too far in his methods, tipping the scales too heavily toward fear and oppression.

"You're not wrong," Tai Lung said calmly. "Without you, Yokoya would fall into chaos. But your methods... they've thrown everything off balance. You've become too cruel, too excessive."

Tetsu snarled and slammed his fists into the ground. Huge pillars of stone erupted from the earth, surging toward Tai Lung with terrifying force.

But Tai Lung was ready. He felt the energy in the earth, the flow of power through Tetsu's movements. He adjusted his stance, channeling the balance within him. 

With a single step, he sidestepped the pillars, using his own momentum to leap into the air. He spun mid-flight, delivering a crushing blow to Tetsu's chest, sending him staggering backward.

Tetsu grunted, surprised by the sheer force of the strike. He tried to rally, lifting more earth, but Tai Lung was relentless. He moved in perfect harmony with the ground beneath him, reading Tetsu's movements before they even happened. 

A swift kick knocked the earthbender off his feet, and in an instant, Tai Lung was on him, his fist poised above Tetsu's throat.

Tetsu lay there, breathing heavily, his eyes wide with shock. He was beaten.

For a moment, Tai Lung considered ending it. Tetsu had caused so much pain, so much suffering. It would be easy to finish him off, to rid the world of one more cruel man.

But then he remembered his path—Absolute Equilibrium. Balance. Killing Tetsu would disrupt that balance. For all his cruelty, Tetsu had maintained order here, and without him, Yokoya could fall into even greater chaos.

Tai Lung lowered his fist.

"You're lucky," Tai Lung said, his voice calm but firm. "I'm not going to kill you. But this is your warning, Tetsu. If you keep pushing things too far, if you continue your cruelty, I'll come back. And next time, I won't show mercy."

Tetsu glared up at him, but there was no defiance left in his eyes. He knew he had been beaten.

With that, Tai Lung turned and walked away, leaving Tetsu and the remnants of the Rumbling Island Daofei behind.

The battle was over.

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