During the dead of winter, it was a rare sunny day, yet a biting cold wind still swept through, chilling to the bone and making one feel utterly frozen.
On this day, over three hundred sturdy men stood in perfect formation in a training ground on the southern outskirts of Xue Lin City, braving the harsh wind.
This training ground was a circular, enclosed area, built an unknown number of years ago. Within its confines were a martial arts hall, a command platform, a cavalry training area, living quarters, a medical bay, and even heated floors for winter training.
The grounds were fully equipped with various training implements such as wooden shields, wooden swords, wooden sabers, wooden spears, real swords, real spears, and real shields.
Hundreds of strong men were clad in newly forged short armor. This type of armor offered an ideal balance of protection, comfort, and flexibility.
The short armor covered only the upper body, safeguarding vital areas like the chest and abdomen, while the throat and arms remained exposed, allowing for exceptional agility in both attack and defense.
On the left breast of the short armor was an iron-cast bear head emblem, the insignia of the Flying Bear Army.
Hundreds of sturdy men, each wearing the short armor and a metal helmet, stood with their eyes and the lower half of their faces exposed. The helmets were a semi-enclosed design.
A black plume extended from the back of each helmet, fluttering behind their heads. All wore red cloaks that reached past their hips. These large red cloaks, billowing slightly in the cold wind, lent them an exceptionally imposing presence.
Below the short armor, the men wore tassets, with their legs exposed beneath.
Hundreds of sturdy men stood silently in the biting wind, each holding a wooden shield in their left hand and a wooden short sword in their right, watching as Tutes, a Zhonglang General of the Yanbian Army, who was dressed in a similar fashion, approached.
"Clack!" Tutes, his helmet and armor giving him a formidable appearance, ascended the command platform. He cracked his whip once and then declared loudly, "You worthless slaves, you heard me correctly. I call you 'worthless slaves'!"
Tutes then gestured with his whip towards the training ground and boomed, "Within this training ground, you are all worthless slaves. To become a man, to become a fierce warrior, you must leave this place. But entering is easy, leaving is hard. Here, you will sweat, you will bleed, you may even get injured or die. I ask you now, does anyone wish to retreat? It is not too late to leave. After today, unless I permit it, not a single one of you will leave this training ground, unless you are a corpse."
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Hundreds of strong men responded by striking their wooden swords against their wooden shields, their roars echoing Tutes' words.
These terms had been made clear beforehand. Those unwilling to endure the brutal training had already departed. The hundreds of sturdy men entering the training ground now did so willingly.
Those undergoing the harsh training within the grounds were provided with incredibly lavish meals daily. Abundant supplies of meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables were provided without limit. As long as one could eat, this alone was enough to make many reluctant to leave.
Most importantly, the Grand Governor of the Border, Hu Yan Sheng, had promised that those who successfully completed the brutal training and earned Tutes' approval would be granted the title of "Bian Shi" (Border Warrior) of the Flying Bear Army. Those bearing this title would receive a stipend equivalent to that of a general, ensuring a comfortable life.
These generous conditions solidified their resolve to persevere.
"Though we are worthless slaves, one day, we shall be admired by thousands, revered as gods by the world, and our enemies will fear us like thunder," Tutes roared.
"Divide into two teams. Two men against each other. Begin!" He cracked his whip again and commanded, "Attack your opponent with any move you can think of. Thrusts, slashes, anything is permitted. Defeat your opponent, and you will have meat and eggs for dinner. Otherwise, you will eat hushed and weeds."
Tutes, of course, had his own methods of brutal training, including endurance, weighted exercises, and lunging thrusts and slashes. However, today, Tutes primarily wanted to assess their individual capabilities and discover their strongest techniques.
Thus, the hundreds of strong men divided into two teams, facing their respective opponents, wooden shields and wooden swords in hand, standing poised. In the freezing winter, their palms and backs were already slick with sweat from tension.
"Has the enemy attacked, and you still await orders? In a life-or-death situation, will you stand still like fools? Attack!" Tutes, seeing the warriors in a standoff, became enraged and shouted, cracking his whip.
"Kill!" Suddenly, the training ground erupted like a storm, the atmosphere becoming intensely charged. Countless warriors brandished their wooden swords and furiously slashed at their opponents.
"Attacks are decisive, like charging horses!"
"Kill!"
"Defend and retreat, as steadfast as Mount Tai!"
"Kill!"
"Concentrate fully, no room for distraction!"
"Kill, kill!"
"Even if Jupiter himself descended, he would tread with caution!"
"Kill, kill, kill!"
"A single misstep can lead to irreversible consequences!"
"Kill, kill, kill, kill!"
Tutes patrolled the grounds, shouting these commands.
Urged on by Tutes' gruff roars, the warriors bellowed as they fiercely attacked their opponents. The clash of wooden swords and shields mingled with the cries of those falling or struck by wooden swords. Dust billowed across the training ground, obscuring the winter sun.
The wooden swords used in training were made of hard wood. To approximate the weight of real swords, they were filled with lead, increasing their heft and improving their adaptability for future combat. A strike from these weapons was excruciatingly painful, and a thrust to a vital area could still prove fatal.
Tutes' combat training began with a stark infusion of blood and brutality.
...
"Kill!!" Twenty days after the commencement of combat training, the warriors' fighting skills had improved dramatically. Zhou Fugui, in particular, progressed at an astonishing pace. At this moment, Zhou Fugui had just knocked another swordsman to the ground with a single sword stroke and stood with a touch of pride, sword and shield in hand.
"You, come here!" Tutes, seeing this, became furious and pointed his whip at Zhou Fugui.
Zhou Fugui felt a pang of apprehension at the summons. He hesitantly walked over to Tutes, sword and shield in hand.
"Attack me!" Tutes ordered concisely.
"Attack you?" Zhou Fugui asked in a low, hesitant voice.
"Slap!" Tutes whipped Zhou Fugui's exposed arm, leaving a long, red welt.
Zhou Fugui's anger flared, and the arm holding his sword and shield trembled slightly.
"Attack!" Tutes roared.
"Kill!" Enraged, Zhou Fugui furiously swung his wooden sword, slashing down towards Tutes' head.
Knowing he was outmatched, Zhou Fugui still intended to fight back. Furthermore, after twenty days of training, he felt his combat skills had improved considerably, perhaps enough to match Tutes?
"Too weak, like a woman who hasn't eaten enough," Tutes stated contemptuously, his body motionless as he deflected Zhou Fugui's attack with his whip.
Haven't eaten enough? A woman? Zhou Fugui's anger intensified. He retracted his sword, took a breath, and charged at Tutes again.
With this attack, Zhou Fugui used almost all his strength. His wooden sword whistled through the air as he leaped, his feet leaving the ground, his entire body lunging towards Tutes with formidable force.
Tutes parried Zhou Fugui's wooden sword horizontally with his whip. Then, with lightning speed, he bent his knee and struck Zhou Fugui's waist, sending him tumbling into the dust, kicking up a cloud of earth several feet high.
Zhou Fugui fell hard, experiencing intense pain throughout his body, struggling to get up.
"Hahahaha!" The other warriors training on the field stopped and watched the exchange. A wave of laughter erupted as Zhou Fugui was sent sprawling into the dirt.
"Your power is sufficient, but your foundation is unstable, leaving too many openings," Tutes said, pointing his whip at the groaning Zhou Fugui who sat on the ground. "Get up and try again. Don't be like a woman."
Receiving even a sliver of praise from Tutes was difficult. However, Tutes' comment, far from being praise, left Zhou Fugui overwhelmed with shame and indignation.
"Damn..." Zhou Fugui, bursting with shame, cursed in a way no one understood. He pushed away the hands of Xu Mancang and Xue Wentai who tried to help him, got up, retrieved his fallen sword and shield, and roared as he charged at Tutes.
Tutes watched Zhou Fugui charge with a cold gaze. As Zhou Fugui neared with his sword, Tutes suddenly dodged to the side, evading the fierce blow, and then used his elbow to strike Zhou Fugui's lower back.
"Anger will blind you and cloud your judgment. Remember, on the battlefield, always remain calm!" Tutes taught as he fought.
Zhou Fugui's charge this time was also at full force and incredibly fast, but he missed his target. With Tutes adding a little more force, Zhou Fugui lost his balance and careened towards a weapon rack.
"Crash!" The weapon rack toppled with a clatter. Simultaneously, a wooden spear struck Zhou Fugui's face, leaving two bloody gashes on his "delicate" countenance.
"Carry fifty catties and run ten li," Tutes said coldly, walking over to Zhou Fugui who lay on the ground.
You damn bastard, your whole family are damn bastards! Why did you, a big Westerner with a beard, come to the East? &……&*%￥, Zhou Fugui cursed internally, a torrent of vile thoughts pouring through his mind.
Despite his immense displeasure, Zhou Fugui had no choice but to comply. He picked up a fifty-catty sandbag and, under the pitying, surprised, or schadenfreude-filled gazes of the onlookers, began his run.
"Howl... howl... howl..." The white bear Chi You, as if glued to his heels, followed Zhou Fugui as he ran.
During this period, the white bear Chi You had been staying with the Ice Bone Camp, and Tutes had paid him no mind.