Book 1: Civil War
Chapter 6: Jian Dou
Zhongfeng paces the floor, stretching and rubbing his wrists, which were still sore from the chains. Fudo looks concerned, "You don't have to fight him," he says.
"I must. It's the only way we'll walk out of here alive," Zhongfeng replies.
"He doesn't want to kill you, he wants you to join him," Fudo tells him.
"Never gonna happen. Besides, he wants you dead, and he won't get that chance after I beat him," Zhongfeng says confidently.
"You can't win," Fudo says quietly.
"Of course I can. I've been trained by the best swordsmen in the Fire Nation. I've beaten everyone I've faced," Zhongfeng reminds him.
"You've been trained by the best swordsmen loyal to your father. I've seen him in battle, no one comes close to him. Bender or non-bender, he's defeated them all."
Just then, a guard walks in, interrupting the friends' argument. "The duel is to begin in five minutes. I'd recommend heading to the main deck."
Zhongfeng turns to his friend, "Hopefully you're wrong about him," he says. He then turns and leaves.
As Zhongfeng arrives on the main deck, he sees Jianchi watching the waves, as his crew watches them anxiously. A crew member walks up to Zhongfeng and hands him his swords. He takes them and turns toward his opponent. He takes his stance, his right hand above his head and his left hand out towards Jianchi.
"I see you use the Raging Dragon form. It can be quite dangerous, to both the opponent and the wielder." He turns to face Zhongfeng, his sword out to his right side. A drum sounds, marking the beginning of the fight. Zhongfeng moves toward Jianchi, and brings his right hand down towards his opponent. Jianchi simply sidesteps the attack. Zhongfeng swings his left blade up, which Jianchi effortlessly evades again.
"It would appear your teacher was Bushi. He is an advocate of the Raging Dragon technique." He blocks Zhongfeng's next attack, "But it has one major flaw."
Jianchi begins to strike back, and Zhongfeng is staggered. Jianchi makes quick strikes to his left and right, which the Avatar barely blocks. Jianchi swings hard to his left, and it knocks the blade out of Zhongfeng's right hand. He then grabs Zhongfeng's left hand, and cuts his forearm. Zhongfeng screams and drops his blade.
Jianchi puts his blade under his opponent's chin. "It lacks defense," he says with a smug grin. Zhongfeng is enraged, and breathes fire at Jianchi, who barely ducks out of the way in time, and then rolls backward. Zhongfeng then shoots fire towards him with his fists, and Jianchi rolls out of the way of them. He fires more at him, but Jianchi blocks them with his blade and begins closing the gap between them. After a few more fire blasts, he is in front of Zhongfeng, and he cuts both of the Avatar's knees, making him fall. Jianchi puts his sword under his chin
"By bending an element, you have broken the rules of Jian Dou." He raises his sword and slashes across the right side of Zhongfeng's face. The avatar cries out as an intense pain courses through his right eye. He is somewhat aware of two men dragging him. He has his right eye closed, and can feel blood pouring down the right side of his face. The two guards put him in chains, and he is left kneeling on the floor, with his hands held in place above him. He tries to open his right eye, but he can't see out of it, and the pain seems to be getting worse. He feels he is about to pass out, and begins to succumb to the darkness.
"Look at you," says a familiar, and almost forgotten voice.