Tenth Section Training Young Children

  After a while, a tribesman who was recognized as the best swordsman in the tribe walked up to Ah Mu'er, bowed and said:

  "Princess Jade Snow's martial arts skills are exceptionally strong, and no one in the tribe can match her. We wholeheartedly admire and willingly acknowledge her as the first brave warrior of the Zhaoge clan."

  Young people in the tribe shouted one after another: "Yuxue is the first brave warrior!" The shouting grew louder and louder, until all the tribesmen shouted together: "The first brave warrior! The first brave warrior!" The sound shook the earth and startled countless birds and beasts.

  A'mu'er waved his hand and everyone stopped.

  "In that case, I hereby declare: all children in the tribe between the ages of six and fifteen, regardless of gender, must attend martial arts training with Yuxue every morning. Does everyone agree?" Yuxue was somewhat taken aback, but Amur hastily said:

  "Child, this is the big thing I was talking about! Father didn't ask you in advance, but father knows you're a good child and will definitely agree with my approach. My tribe is weak and relies on its remote location to avoid being swallowed up by those large tribes. But now that our population has grown, we'll inevitably attract the attention of those nobles. The Khan has unified the grasslands and is currently waging war everywhere, so someone will definitely notice us. When the time comes, we'll have to donate people, horses, and grain, and all the energy we've accumulated with difficulty will be consumed, and we'll have to live by looking at others' faces. Although the Khan is wise, he's already in his twilight years and doesn't have much time left. As you can see, for the sake of the throne, several sons are fighting openly and secretly, and the grasslands are divided into different factions with different supporters. My tribe is a small tribe that can only preserve itself by being cautious and quietly building up its strength. You haven't seen how father ordered us to move westward again three years ago, another 300 miles! We're already a thousand miles away from the nearest Mongolian tribe, and to the west are high snow-capped mountains where even birds find it hard to fly! Father did this to keep our people far away from war! You may not be of age yet, and you're a girl, but you're heroic, talented in both literature and martial arts, and have a thoughtful and kind heart. Father is very fond of you. Father is already old, and the future belongs to you young people. I hope you can cultivate more brave warriors for our tribe, so that we can stand firm at the foot of the divine mountain forever. That way, father can die with his eyes closed!"

  Yu Xue was moved by her father's sincerity: "Dad, don't worry, I won't disappoint your expectations!"

  The tribesmen were delighted to hear that the children could follow Yuxue's martial arts, and after hearing Amuer's words, they were even more moved. They just didn't understand why they had to let girls participate. Mongolians have always been patriarchal, and although they wouldn't treat girls badly, girls from a young age only helped their mothers with household chores and taking care of younger siblings, without any status. Only men participated in major tribal events, such as going out to battle or herding horses. What's the point of girls learning martial arts?!

  A'ermu had a different idea. His two daughters were outstanding, especially Yuxue. Let the girls participate too, first to cultivate the whole tribe's martial arts atmosphere, and secondly, with girls joining in, Yuxue wouldn't be surrounded by boys all day, getting into fights and losing her femininity. This latter point was his personal consideration, not worth mentioning to outsiders. At this moment, he explained it to the tribespeople, who all agreed.

  From then on, Yu Xue became a child prodigy and the leader of the group. Even some adults would often ask her to teach them sword techniques during their leisure time in the afternoon.

  That night, she thought for a long time and came up with a countermeasure against Huang Jin's cunning move. Her actual martial arts foundation was the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Scripture. The children were just ordinary people who didn't even have true energy, so they really didn't know what to do. Huang Jin smiled slyly and took out a red fruit, telling her to grind it into a pulp, mix it with water, and give it to the children to drink, while also saying in a lazy tone:

  "You're still bothering me with such a trivial matter! It's just that this Zhu Guo Ling has an extraordinary aura, those kids can't take it. You must add more water to dilute it. Hehe, after drinking it, there will be some minor trouble, you'll know tomorrow."

  The next day, the children gathered in the empty space of the tribe at dawn. Yu Xue took them for a run around the village without saying a word. After several laps, the older kids were fine, but the younger ones were panting and fell to the ground one after another. Yu Xue brought out a bucket of cold water with additives and had each child drink half a bowl. Not long after drinking, the children started complaining of stomach pain and ran off to find a place to relieve themselves nonstop. Even Yu Yan was affected, turning pale and crying out in discomfort. Only then did Yu Xue realize what Huang Jin meant by "a little trouble" - it was to purge the body of impurities. Yu Xue's expression remained unchanged as she instructed the children to come earlier the next day. The group dispersed early that day.

  At night, the clansmen came to the clan leader to complain. Ah Mu'er pulled Yu Xue aside and asked her. Yu Xue smiled but didn't answer, only letting Ah Dad sternly urge the children to come tomorrow. Ah Mu'er didn't know what she was up to, but trusting her, he instructed the clansmen to urge their own children.

  For three days, all the children were scared when they saw Yu Xue bring a bucket of water. She stared at each one as they drank and swallowed, checking their mouths, making it impossible for them to pretend.

  It's strange to say that from the fourth day on, the children felt much lighter in their bodies. After running for a whole morning, even the smallest child could keep up. Three days later, Yuxue ordered the children to push the water cart at home and each person had to bring a large leather bag.

  The next morning, the children curiously gathered around to watch as they pushed the water cart. At that time, every Mongolian family had a water cart. It was made of wood with a tank-like structure on top and two wooden wheels at the bottom. It was placed outside the tent for fetching water throughout the day. Usually, the housewife would go to the water source early in the morning to fill it up and then use an ox to pull it back home.

  At this time, the water cart in the house was pulled by the children, and all the women were curious to follow. Even Sangzhu looked at Yuyan pulling her family's water cart on the side, inexplicably.

  Yu Xue gave a loud order and all the children put on their leather bags and followed her to run towards the water source in the camp. Then fill up with water and run back with it, pouring the water into the water cart. The leather bag was heavy after filling with water, and the children followed Yu Xue to run to the water source far upstream of the camp. After several trips, all the children were panting. Yu Xue ordered the smaller ones to put down their water bags and run back, while the bigger ones continued. After the water cart was fully filled and sent back home, they practiced horse-riding in the empty space, not allowing rest until time was up.

  By noon, the children were all sore hands and weak legs. It was hard to hear Yuxue call a halt, and they didn't dare look at her as they dispersed in a rush.

  After half a month, the children's strength increased and their horse stance became more stable. Yuxue then changed to letting them hold water bags, one in each hand, switching between left and right hands. She also changed the horse stance to a golden rooster standing on one leg, with each foot taking turns for half the time, while keeping both hands stretched out straight. The children were tortured, crying out in distress. Tribespeople often came to watch, clicking their tongues in amazement at such an unusual training method. Seeing that as the weather warmed up, their own children's skills improved, they were delighted and often encouraged Yuxue, admiring her even more. This made the empty spaces in front of the doors and courtyards bustling with activity. Yuxue smiled secretly: this was just the beginning.

  The snow melted and spring returned to the land. After moving to a new location, Yu Xue came up with a new plan. She had all the children tie cloth bags around their feet and run fifty miles every morning to a mountain valley filled with small trees. Once in the valley, each child took a sickle and used their skill to cut down a tree without damaging the sickle. At that time, iron was precious and rare, and the tribe's blacksmith only made horse shoes and rarely fired up the furnace, spending most of his days herding animals. The hundreds of sickles were not easily obtained by the tribe. If they were all ruined in just a few days, it would be unacceptable. For a time, the sound of chopping wood startled the birds and beasts, causing them to flee in panic. Yu Xue guided the children while picking herbs, doing two things at once without mistake. She corrected anyone whose wrist movement was incorrect or whose posture was wrong. After cutting down the trees, they carried them back to the tribe. This exercise trained their strength and knife skills, and also obtained a lot of wood, which had many benefits. Originally, Yu Xue saw that all the half-grown children were following her to practice martial arts, but even though it was only in the morning, it left a lot of household chores for the women. The men went out to herd animals early in the morning, and without any children to help, the women were somewhat busy. Therefore, she came up with the idea of carrying water and using sickles to cut trees, which achieved two goals at once.

  When summer arrived, Yu Xue began teaching the children knife techniques. She organized the knife techniques she had come up with that day into thirty-six moves called "Killing Wolf Knife Techniques". Each move was carefully taught in detail. The scene showed the children listening attentively to Yu Xue's counting voice, their movements precise and impressive. From then on, the tribe saw another sight: Yu Xue walking around the field, correcting each child's mistakes, with four half-grown wolf cubs following closely behind her.

  Four little wolves were brought back to their tent by Jade Snow, where they ate and lived together with her. When she practiced her skills, the four little ones would be by her side. As she absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into her body, the spiritual energy around her concentrated, and the four little ones also benefited from it, gradually becoming more intelligent and clever. They could even understand human speech and react to it. They loved to stick close to Jade Snow, not only because they had a deep affection for her but also because they felt that her aura was extremely beneficial to them. Jade Snow named them according to their characteristics: Xiao Bai, Xiao Hei, Wu Tui, and Hua Lian.

  When the autumn harvest was ripe and the horses were fat, the children had already practiced the wolf-killing knife technique to perfection. Some of the older kids had become so skilled that even adults in the tribe couldn't match them, earning their admiration. However, Yu Xue only taught the children, as it would be too embarrassing for him to learn alongside the little ones. So he could only learn a few moves from his younger siblings at night. As a result, the wolf-killing knife technique became all the rage in the tribe, with people of all ages gathering every evening after dinner to practice and exchange techniques under the fiery torches, creating a spectacular scene. Ah Mu Er was delighted by this outcome, laughing happily every day.

  Yu Xue was still not satisfied. She felt that the children's knife skills were good, but their power was far from what she had expected, which was due to a lack of internal foundation. However, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl Scripture couldn't be transmitted casually at this time, so she had to think of another way.