Chapter 23: Human Torch

  Forty-nine people set off, including Yang Yiliang and Yu Zecheng. They changed into other clothes, carried weapons, and dispersed out of the city in groups of three or two before gathering at Wulipu.

  Who would have thought that when they arrived at Wulipo, six of the forty-nine people were missing? These six people were all Ma Tianyu's former younger brothers, street thugs. As soon as they saw that they had to fight with others, they all sneaked back home and hid. Perhaps there was also an undercover agent among them who was under Tan Er Lang's command. That Fēng Tiān Xī was also one of Ma Tianyu's younger brothers. Of the eight disciples who started out, only Ma Tianyu himself was left, and he was suddenly overcome with shame.

  Yu Ze Cheng said:

  "Good, they left for the better. Indeed there was a traitor among them. The message should have reached Majiazhuai by now. We change our target and head to Liujiarizi to take down the Warmth Helper's headquarters."

  Everyone was stunned by these words, and Gaofeng said:

  "Although they have only three hundred disciples who can fight, two hundred of them are already at Majiazhai, but Liujiarizi still has more than eight hundred people, and we have less than fifty people, they also have masters, can we do it?"

  Yu Ze Cheng said:

  "We'll do it, we must do it. Hand over the high-ranking officials to me, and leave the rest to you. If you want to live a good life in this mountain town, you can't just sit back and enjoy it without putting your life on the line. We've been training for a thousand days, and now is the time to put it into action. Are you men or not? Dare you use blood to wash away our shame? What's the Warmth Gang? Just a bunch of stray dogs and rubble. As the saying goes, 'draw your sword and make a swift kill, don't disappoint the young heroes'."

  Lin Ye Hong replied first:

  "Alright, I'll die with you."

  Fu Qiang roared:

  "Kill those bastards, bullying our brothers, kill, kill, kill."

  The crowd was suddenly invigorated, and Yu Zecheng gave the order to set off. Under Yang Yiliang's leadership, they rushed straight to Liujiarizi, a mountain road of about ten miles, which took an hour to walk, and arrived at noon.

  The headquarters of the Warm Help Gang was a mountain stronghold, situated in an open area between two large mountains. The exterior was surrounded by solid stone walls that were one zhang high. The main gate had two arrow towers and four disciples guarding it. However, at present, the defenses did not seem very strict, with only one person sitting lazily on the arrow tower.

  The crowd hid in the mountain forest on one side, and Yu Ze Cheng began to arrange, first eating dry food to recover his energy, and waiting until noon when they ate to take action. Yu Ze Cheng left Ma Tianyu and three other disciples who were not good at fighting outside, ordering them to cover everyone.

  Ma Tianyu firmly opposed, he insisted on participating in the battle, using blood to prove that he was not a coward. Yu Zecheng agreed to his request. Huang Xiaodong, who is good at array warfare, went far away to put up a sentry post to prevent enemy reinforcements from appearing. Wan Lifu, who is skilled in healing, stayed behind to prepare for the treatment of the wounded. Another person named Feng Gang, who is skilled in archery, and the enemies on the arrow tower are his task.

  Everyone waited quietly, and at noon, all the disciples of the warming faction returned home for lunch. The guards at the gate surprisingly left one after another, closing the gate as if nothing had happened.

  Yu Ze Cheng made a hand gesture, and the crowd rushed towards the gate, forming a triangular battle array of 40 people, with Yu Ze Cheng at the center. The sword tip position was Lin Ye Hong, the left wing was You You Zi, the right wing was Fu Gang father and son, and Gou Lian San Ying was in charge of the rear array.

  When everyone rushed halfway, the disciples on the arrow tower discovered them. Just as they were about to shout, an arrow shot out from this side and instantly nailed him to the arrow tower.

  Yu Zecheng and others quietly rushed to the gate, pushed it hard, and surprisingly, the gate was not locked. Who would lock the gate in the middle of the day for no reason? The gate opened, and suddenly, the heating pipe at the back door was exposed in their line of sight.

  At this time, a miserable cry came from the arrow tower. Someone sent food to the disciples in the arrow tower and saw the corpse, letting out a scream.

  Yu Ze Cheng shouted loudly:

  "Mighty Tiger Gang's Yu Ze Cheng invites Yang Yi Cheng out for negotiations."

  He shouted loudly, and immediately from across the way came:

  "Enemy attack, enemy attack."

  "The Tiger Gang is coming, strike the bell quickly."

  In the mountain village, the sound of gongs, shouts and cries filled the air. Someone appeared wielding a sword, others ran around wildly, while some came forward to try to stop the crowd.

  Yu Zecheng led the vanguard to charge forward quickly, and the main hall in the middle of the mountain stronghold was the target of the breakthrough. The training over the past few days had gradually taken effect, and the crowd charged into the enemy camp with a battle array. Just then, four disciples from the Warming Help Sect happened to walk by, they were here to replace the guards at the gate.

  They collided with Lin Ye Hong, who swung his long sword and emitted a white aura from the blade. The true energy was released, and in an instant, the four people let out miserable cries. Two were cut in two, one had their leg severed, and another's head flew off, all within a brief moment that did not pause.

  At this time, a figure appeared in front of the main hall opposite, holding a long sword. Yang Yiliang saw that his eyes were bright red and said:

  "He is Yang Yicheng, the leader of the Warmth Assistance Group."

  Yang Yicheng shouted loudly, calling his subordinates to gather. The battle array led by Lin Ye Hong rushed towards him, and on the way, they encountered enemies who were trying to block their advance, but no one was a match for them, either being hacked down by the crowd or pierced through the heart by Lin Ye Hong's sword.

  The battle array advanced, no one could match, charging to half the distance of the Grand Hall, a giant emerged, he was eight feet tall, bare-chested, his entire body covered in a layer of strange oil, emitting an eerie glow.

  He shouted loudly:

  "Quickly take warmth and ignite, deploy troops and retreat from the enemy."

  After shouting, he rushed towards Lin Ye Hong. This person should be Tie Jia Jin Gang Hu Tian Ma. His body was covered with the resin of a thousand-year-old green pine tree, known as "invulnerable to knives and guns, impervious to water and fire".

  Lin Ye Hong's sword flashed out, its energy swirling, and in an instant it struck Hu Tianma. However, this guy's nickname wasn't for nothing - the treasured sword infused with true energy surprisingly failed to pierce his chest, instead being bent at a 90-degree angle by some enormous force, still unable to penetrate his body.

  The momentum of the advancing team was suddenly blocked, and Fu Gang kicked Hu Tianma out one foot, but Hu Tianma got up as if nothing had happened, patted his chest vigorously, and laughed loudly to mock Lin Yehong.

  Lin Ye was enraged and just about to charge forward when Yu Ze Cheng suddenly unleashed a Flame Blast from behind, the flame symbol flashing as a stream of flames shot out. This happened to be the perfect counter to Hu Tian Ma's oily outer skin, rendering his "water and fire resistance" useless. In an instant, he was like a pillar of fire, exploding in a deafening roar as he let out a mournful cry.

  Actually, Hu Tianma's oil and fat outer garment had been treated with fireproofing, so ordinary flames burning for a few minutes wouldn't ignite it, which is why he claimed to be impervious to water and fire. However, when he encountered the Fire Talisman's flame, it suddenly ignited like a torch.

  Hu Tianma let out a miserable cry before falling to the ground dead, his body charred like charcoal. However, his sacrifice was not in vain, as his corpse turned into a pile of flames, bringing warmth and opportunity to the people of the village.

  The most powerful mind method of the Warming Help is the Great Warming Method. They were originally woodcutters, and fire piles are a symbol of safety for them. In the mountain stronghold, countless fire piles were lit, among which some prepared fire piles contained special medicinal materials that emitted a strange fragrance in the flames. As long as the disciples of the Warming Help smelled this fragrance, they would become fearless, their combat strength would double, and their power would be boundless. This is the origin of the Warming Help.

  The other side found that Yu Zecheng had only over 40 people, while they had nearly a thousand people. With more people, their morale was boosted, so they formed a battle array and confronted Yu Zecheng's forces head-on.