Tempering and Unity
Dust flew across the training ground that afternoon, and shouts rang out without pause. The youth squad's training had settled into a routine, no longer limited to running laps and wrestling. Wang Yan began introducing more competitive exercises, such as marking out a circle and having two people spar barehanded inside it until one was pushed out or conceded.
Today, the two sparring were Gubang and Yingmu.
One was the hunting captain's son, lean and agile, who had learned much of Wang Yan's craft and held the edge in technique; the other was a child from an ordinary hunter's family, gifted with extraordinary strength that ranked among the best of his peers, like a wild bull.
Inside the circle, the two had already been grappling for quite a while. Gubang was like a slippery fish, constantly using his footwork to evade Yingmu's fierce lunges, seizing openings to land a blow now and then. Yingmu relied on his strength to maintain a fairly tight defense, unconcerned about taking a few hits. His arms were like iron hoops, always trying to seize Gubang and subdue him.
"Yingmu, is brute force all you know?" Gubang ducked beneath a bear hug, still finding time to taunt him.
"Hmph! Once I catch you, let's see how you keep hopping around!" Yingmu answered gruffly and lunged again.
The two locked together again, wrestling and rolling around the circle, neither able to get the better of the other, until they were covered in dirt and bits of grass. The youths gathered around them in a ring, loudly cheering for their favorites, the atmosphere buzzing.
Wang Yan stood outside the circle with his arms folded, watching quietly. He did not stop them; this degree of competition helped them learn each other's strengths and limits. He noticed that although Yingmu's technique was crude, his footing was exceptionally stable. Gubang had tried several times to trip him with deftly applied force, but every attempt had failed. Meanwhile, under the pressure of Yingmu's immense strength, Gubang's evasion and force-deflecting techniques were improving rapidly.
In the end, with most of their strength spent, neither could push the other. They remained deadlocked in the center of the circle, panting heavily, making it a draw.
"Stop!" Only then did Wang Yan speak, stepping into the circle.
Gubang and Yingmu glared at each other before reluctantly letting go, but there was a measure of acknowledgment in both their eyes. Anyone who could fight them to this point was certainly no weakling.
Wang Yan did not declare a winner or loser. Instead, he patted their shoulders and said in a clear voice, "Good! Gubang, your movements are getting more agile. You know how to play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. Yingmu, your strength and endurance have improved greatly, and your defense is solid too! Both of you did well!"
Praised by their captain, who was also the tribe's acknowledged "little lucky star," both scratched their heads a little sheepishly, and most of their lingering resentment faded.
Wang Yan struck while the iron was hot. Sweeping his gaze over all the youths, he said clearly, "We are one team! In the future, we'll hunt together and protect the tribe together! Individual prowess matters, but unity matters even more! Today, I have an announcement!"
Everyone fell silent and looked at Wang Yan.
"Starting tomorrow, our training will become more detailed. Yingmu, Kuaitui, Shimao, Changteng, Jiandun, Lichi, Heizhua, and the others!" He called nine names, all youths who had performed well during this period, each with strengths of their own.
"You nine, step forward!"
The nine stepped forward as instructed and stood in a row, their faces filled with confusion and anticipation.
"From now on, each of you nine will be responsible for leading one other person, forming a small team!" Wang Yan quickly divided them into nine teams, doing his best to ensure that each team's members had complementary abilities.
"You nine will be team leaders! You must not only train well yourselves, but also supervise and help your teammates improve alongside you! During training, teams can compete against one another! In running, for example, we'll see which team gets all its members across the finish line first! You can also spar against other teams!"
The appointments lifted the spirits of the nine named youths, and they unconsciously thrust their chests out a little farther. This was recognition, but more than that, it was a responsibility. The other youths also found the idea novel. Forming teams with companions they knew would surely make training more interesting.
Wang Yan had several considerations in doing this. First, it allowed for more detailed management. Watching twenty people by himself, he was bound to overlook things, while dividing them into teams would better allow instruction suited to their abilities. Second, it would cultivate a core of leaders: these nine team leaders would be the future force's junior officers. Most importantly, cooperation and competition between teams could greatly strengthen the entire group's cohesion and sense of belonging.
Sure enough, from the next day onward, the atmosphere on the training ground grew even more spirited.
During sparring, they also began paying attention to simple coordination, such as having one person keep an opponent occupied while the other took the lead in attacking.
Under this system, the youths came to understand one another better with each passing day. They learned who was strongest, who ran fastest, who threw stones most accurately, and who was best at setting tripwires. Minor friction still arose during training; Yingmu's team and Gubang's team, for instance, often tried to outdo each other. But this was healthy competition, a contest within the rules. They might still vie with one another in private, but everyone understood that they served under "Captain Yan" and were part of a single whole.
Watching these youths being tempered in sweat and dirt, watching them gradually coalesce from a heap of loose sand into a solid stone, Wang Yan felt deeply gratified. He believed that, after training like this, whatever enemies they faced in the future, these youths who had sweated together, competed with one another, and supported each other would unleash a fearsome strength born of unity.
That evening, the hunting party returned fully laden. Chief Jianshi came back to the tribe weary but joyful over the haul, and habitually looked first toward the clearing where the youth squad trained.
What he saw was no longer a scene of playful roughhousing, but nine small formations conducting their training in an orderly manner. Some practiced wrestling techniques, some ran shuttle runs, and others practiced throwing. Although their movements were still immature, their earnest concentration and the hints of organization and discipline made a keen light flash in Jianshi's eyes.
His gaze settled on Wang Yan, who stood quietly observing at the edge of the grounds. The sunset's lingering rays gilded Wang Yan with a golden outline. His composed bearing was nothing like that of a child barely over ten.
Jianshi did not interrupt. He simply watched from a distance, an irrepressible smile spreading across his face.
This son of his had given him far too many pleasant surprises. Not only could he find food and make tools, but now he was also displaying extraordinary talent in management and training. With the Fire Tribe's future entrusted to Yan, perhaps it truly could reach unprecedented glory.