From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

It was around 8 or 9 p.m.

Fang Qing climbed onto the very rough lookout tower, where many branches had not yet been cleared.

The watchtower is about ten meters high.

Once you reach the observation deck, there's only a simple bamboo ladder.

Upon arriving at the observation tower, Yang Zhi, following Fang Qing's instructions, had already fixed a polished, highly polished reflector disc onto the railing next to the observation tower.

This is a reflector made from polished aluminum disc.

There is a handle at the back and a pivot at the bottom.

Yang Zhi only needs to move this handle, and the shaft can rotate almost 180 degrees up, down, left, and right.

The most impressive part is that there is a wooden slide rail in the center of the front of this aluminum reflector.

Above the track, there was a torch that had been lit and was burning very brightly, soaked in kerosene.

The torch passes through the center of the reflector, and a handle that can be pushed and pulled forward and backward extends from Yang Zhi's rear end.

This is actually just a very simple version of a searchlight.

Like a funnel-shaped reflector, it has the function of converging light.

Torches are naturally the source of light.

Pull the handle when the torch and reflector are in the center to adjust the distance between them.

The reflector can be adjusted to either diffuse or focus the light at a point.

Just like when we use a flashlight, whether we focus the light or let it diffuse...

With this simple version of the searchlight, Fang Qing could directly cover more than ten brine pools below the watchtower.

Once the enemy is spotted, the searchlight can be switched from a diffused state to a focused state.

Once the enemy is focused, they will have nowhere to hide under the bright light.

Next, this simple searchlight can track the enemy in real time.

From the lookout tower, instructions regarding the enemy's location would be continuously relayed to the 100 able-bodied throwers below.

The thrower could then use the time and direction positioning method taught to him by Fang Qing to throw the thick, two-meter-long round pine log in his hand towards the enemy.

When everything was ready, it was already nearly 10 p.m.

Fang Qing narrowed his eyes and twitched his ears slightly. He heard the sound of tree branches being broken from the woods behind their salt field.

"Put out the fire!"

"Throwers, get ready!"

Yang Zhi, who was adjusting a simplified version of the searchlight, simply extinguished the oil torch.

The entire salt field was instantly plunged into darkness.

All that remained were the slightly rapid breathing sounds of more than 100 young men below the watchtower.

……

After nightfall.

More than 100 figures, with ropes slung over their bodies, stealthily made their way to several brine pools in the Jinsha Saltworks under the cover of night.

Before setting off, these people had already memorized the routes of the several brine pools in the Jinsha Saltworks.

Including these 100-plus people, most of them were skilled individuals who had taken money from the Zhu Family Village.

Therefore, even when moving forward in the dark, everyone followed their predetermined route in an orderly manner.

Wang Wu was the one at the very front of the group.

According to Zhu Qinghe's instructions, they would receive 50 coins for each piece of braised ice they carried back, regardless of size.

This kind of work doesn't come around often.

If the two sides hadn't really gotten into a fight, what big landowner would be willing to spend so much money on such a thankless task?

More importantly, Wang Wu and his men were just the vanguard, tasked with disrupting the Jinsha Saltworks' line of sight.

Nearly 200 more local tenant farmers from Zhujiazhuang followed behind them.

Of course, given the Zhu family's character, the tenant farmers would not receive as much silver as they did.

Wang Wu and his more than 100 skilled men finally managed to reach the outer perimeter of the Jinsha Saltworks under the cover of night.

The Jinsha Saltworks is surrounded by a simple wooden fence.

These simple fences posed no obstacle to Wang Wu and his fellow martial arts practitioners.

Wang Wu pulled out a wood-chopping knife from behind him and quickly cut a gap in the wooden fence.

One of Wang Wu's accomplices lowered his voice and said:

"Fifth Brother, I heard that the saltworks managers from Jinsha Saltworks came to Zhujiazhuang to demand an explanation. Could they have taken precautions and sent people to guard these brine pools?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Wu continued clearing a path with his machete without pausing for a moment.

"Even if there are salt farmers guarding it, so what?"

"Can they really stop over 100 of our best fighters?"

"Among us, the most powerful ones have all entered the Body Tempering Realm."

"There are nearly a dozen people who have been training their bodies for years and are about to be promoted to higher levels."

"The salt farmers at Jinsha Saltworks live like beggars, or even worse."

"If anyone dares to block our path to wealth, why not just chop them down with our machetes?"

As Wang Wu finished speaking, a chorus of laughter and angry shouts erupted from the surrounding area.

These martial artists who had reached the highest level of skill did not take the salt farmers of Jinsha Saltworks seriously at all.

In their eyes, this was a golden opportunity to make money without restraint.

"I'm going to take at least a dozen blocks of ice back with the brine today and empty their entire brine pool."

"Once the money's in our pockets, we'll all go to a brothel together and enjoy the finest food and drinks. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Wang Wu's words immediately drew the attention of several martial arts practitioners nearby, whose eyes lit up.

Desire filled their hearts, and they moved forward even faster.

When they reached the designated brine pool in the dark, they found it empty and unattended.

Wang Wu's eyes immediately filled with mockery.

"As expected, those cowards at Jinsha Saltworks, even though they know we're going to steal their brine, can only cower like turtles."

"They don't even let anyone on guard. Doesn't that mean we can steal brine with impunity?"

"Brothers, let's get to work!"

"The money and the woman are just ahead."

"If you're too slow, you won't get any benefits."

At that moment, Wang Wu pulled out an iron hammer from his waist.

Meanwhile, he also had an iron hammer in his other hand. He used the hammer to break the ice in the brine pool into pieces.

After smashing a block of ice, he quickly tied the salt water ice block tightly with the rope he was carrying.

Next, he carried the salt water ice cubes on his back.

Just as he picked up the ice and was about to return to Zhujiazhuang, he suddenly turned around and looked behind him with some confusion.

In the darkness, he saw that a tower had appeared out of nowhere.

On the tower, he could vaguely see a figure.

In the dark, the pupils of the human eye dilate in order to receive more light.

In Wang Wu's pupils, a new point of light appeared on the distant tower.

At first, the light spots were very small, like fireflies!

He knew that was how a tinderbox looked when lit.

The next moment, a bright flame blazed up, and a torch was ignited instantly.

As light entered Wang Wu's pupils.

The pupils, which had been dilated, contracted instantly.

Before Wang Wu and his group could react...

Immediately afterwards, they heard a rhythmic drumbeat coming from the tower.

thump...

dong dong...

They felt a sense of fear creeping over them, which made them feel unfree.

The sound of the drums was like iron hooves trampling on the hearts of Wang Wu and the others.

At this moment, Wang Wu was still unaware of the seriousness of the problem; he still had the salt water ice block, weighing nearly fifty or sixty pounds, slung over his shoulder.

They stared in astonishment, mouth agape, as a beam of dazzling light shone down on them from the tower.

The light was so dazzling that it made Wang Wu's pupils instantly shrink to the size of a needle's eye.

This is a protective mechanism of the human eye.

When exposed to strong light, the pupil constricts to protect the retina and reduce the amount of light entering the eye!

Just as Wang Wu was wondering what was going on...

The next moment, a clear, cold voice came from afar.

"Release it in the direction of midnight!"

With a "whoosh," Wang Wu heard a sound like wasps buzzing in his ear.

The next moment, countless black dots appeared in his field of vision.

It flew towards them from the space directly above his head.

What are these black dots?

Does it mean it hails in winter?

Just as this thought arose, Wang Wu raised his head, and the next moment, his face was filled with terror.

He finally saw clearly what those black dots flying from the shadows were.

They were all round logs, each one sharpened to a very fine point.

These logs, like raindrops, came crashing down on them head-on.

Wang Wu immediately felt his hands and feet turn ice cold.

In the blink of an eye, with a "whoosh," he felt a burning pain on his scalp.

Taking advantage of the strong light shining in front of him, Wang Wu subconsciously looked behind him.

Behind him, a nearly two-meter-long round pine log was nailed to the ground.

The log's tail was still trembling slightly.

Wang Wu touched the burning, painful spot on his scalp.

Even in the bright light, he could see that his hands were covered in red blood.

Fortunately, the log had only grazed his scalp before embedding itself in the ground.

At this moment, Wang Wu was still in a daze, looking to the left and right.

Some of his accomplices, who had just been chatting and laughing with him, were pinned to the ground with round pine logs piercing their chests.

These people were spitting out blood and struggling desperately; they were clearly not going to survive.

Some of the luckier ones, like Wang Wu, managed to escape the attack of the sharpened logs.

The quick-witted ones had already thrown the bundled ice blocks aside and were desperately climbing back the way they came, using both hands and feet.

Some were impaled on their thighs by sharpened round pine logs.

These people were pinned to the ground, using their hands and feet to try to pull the logs off their legs.

But these logs had barbs cut off the outside.

When his accomplices pulled the log out, the barbs on the log were covered in flesh and blood.

Some were even pierced through the temple by logs and nailed directly to the ground.

His accomplices didn't even have a chance to react before they straightened up and remained motionless.

This hellish scene left Wang Wu stunned for quite a while.

When he came to his senses, he used both his hands and feet to desperately crawl backward, following the others.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind.

run!

Get out of this place as soon as possible.

This is not a place for humans; this is hell.

The one who threw the sharpened round pine logs at them was the devil king of hell.

Just as Wang Wu had crawled outwards using both hands and feet for nearly five or six meters...

Then, he heard a voice like a death knell coming from dozens of meters behind him.

"The direction at the beginning of midnight..."

"Ready to throw, release!"