Chapter 15: Test

Everything happened in an instant.

From Qin Shujian’s abrupt attack to his hurried retreat, the scene only took a few seconds.

The deed was done even before most of the players could react.

Then, Head Coach Zhang looked at the other fighters and retreated into the village.

Head Coach Zhang and the rest of the fighters sat facing each other in the seamstress’s shop.

Also in the shop was an elderly man with a neat white mustache.

The three of them had an indiscernible gaze of respect when they looked at the elder.

“We’ve long heard that the Liangshan Stronghold is the most ferocious bunch of Mountain Bandits in the area. The Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain we encountered today was extraordinary. His abilities might be even stronger than the previous Stronghold Chieftain,” Head Coach Zhang said, still shaken when he thought about the harrowing blade he faced just now.

Li Chunhua shook her head and said, “That is obvious. That person managed to kill Wu Sheng. His abilities must be stronger than Wu Sheng’s.”

“Regrettably, I thought that the area would become more stable when the head honcho of the Mountain Bandits, Wu Sheng, who committed all forms of atrocities, died. I did not expect the new Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain to be more vicious than Wu Sheng.”

“If this is the case, it will not be easy for our village to experience peaceful days,” Li Chunhua’s words made the atmosphere a little tense.

However, Zhu Daming had a look of fury, “The Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain is powerful indeed. But he must not be much stronger than us. If the village chief is willing to take action, we can capture him.”

His line of sight landed on the elderly man as he spoke.

The elderly man was the chief of Starter Village #10021.

He looked like an ailing old man. However, Zhu Daming and the rest of the fighters knew that he was the most powerful fighter in the whole village.

The village chief said slowly, “From what I can see, the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain is already able to exert power from every part of his body. His cultivation level must have reached at least Martial Entry-Level Five.”

“Furthermore, he also has a boost due to his identity as the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain. His strength might rival an expert at Martial Entry-Level Six.”

“We might not be able to guarantee his capture if we took action without ample preparation,” the village chief paused for a moment after he said that, then continued.

“It is easy to release the tiger back into the mountains, but the situation would become more difficult for us if we startle him and put him on guard. Judging from the personality of a Mountain Bandit, he must feel indignant that he was forced to retreat this time around. There will be a next time after he finishes making his preparations.”

“We will also be prepared to capture all of them when that time comes.”

“Hmph! Regrettably, I cannot freely leave the village. Otherwise, I would have long eradicated the Liangshan Stronghold!” Zhu Daming let out a cold grunt.

…

On the other side, Qin Shujian had entirely left the territory of Starter Village #10021.

There was a simple reason for why he left so swiftly. It was clear that he couldn’t win against three fighters.

He had mobilized almost all of his strength during their instantaneous clash just now.

From Qin Shujian’s perspective, the person who had first appeared and the two people who arrived after must have abilities at Martial Entry-Level Five. They might even be Martial Entry- Level Six experts.

He was confident that he could win if he were only battling one or two of them.

However, Qin Shujian could not deal with three of them, especially since they complemented each other in battle.

Moreover, there might be other powerful fighters in the starter village.

If that were the case, continuing to battle would only put him in a more dangerous spot without any added benefits.

“They had at least three experts at Martial Entry-Level Five. There might even be powerful fighters at Martial Entry-Level Six or even higher inside the village. Dealing with Starter Village #10021 will not be an easy task,” Qin Shujian thought.

Qin Shujian came to some sort of conclusion after he tested the strength of the village.

If the Liangshan Stronghold, at its current strength, was to face off against Starter Village #10021, it was more likely than not that the stronghold would be annihilated.

However, Qin Shujian felt that it was reasonable when he thought about the matter from another perspective.

After all, a starter village was the first layer of protection for the players when they first entered the game. It was also the most crucial layer of protection. It was a place that safeguarded the players’ stable development.

Based on Qin Shujian’s estimate, it might be that the strength of the starter villages of different areas was different.

For example, Qin Shujian was the strongest person in the Liangshan Stronghold.

Thus, the starter village that spawned here would have an overall strength that took his abilities into account. It would make it such that the Liangshan Stronghold would be unable to deal with the starter village.

However, these were but Qin Shujian’s conjectures.

He still needed some time to ascertain his guesses to figure out the exact situation.

Currently, to Qin Shujian, the most important thing was still to erase the threat that the players posed.

Initially, based on Qin Shujian’s initial plans, he would first scout the strength of the starter village. If the starter village was not strong, he would return to the stronghold and bring over a large army of Mountain Bandits to eradicate the starter village.

Without a starter village, the players were akin to a free-floating log.

When that time came, he would naturally be able to do anything he wanted with them.

But through his scouting, he found out that the starter village was too powerful. The Liangshan Stronghold could not fight against the village for the time being.

Thus, Qin Shujian had no choice but to deviate from his original plan.

He looked at his attributes.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Stage: Martial Entry-Level Six (You are within the Liangshan Stronghold’s territory, Stage +1)

Cultivated Techniques: Bodyforge Manual Perfected (Will-Directed Power) (Mortal Tier Low-Grade), Black Tiger Blade Technique (Pinnacle) (Mortal Tier Mid Grade)

Life Value: 22

Equipment: Ninth-grade Lethal Weapon Tiger Head Blade, Ninth-grade Armor Tiger Hide Clothing Set (Tiger Hide Coat, Tiger Hide Trousers, Tiger Hide Belt, Tiger Hide Boots)

His Life Value had risen from its original eight points to the current 22 points.

Qin Shujian made a rough calculation. He had killed 13 of the starter village’s guards.

One guard gave him one point of Life Value.

He also seized the opportunity to kill a group of players while he was leaving.

Qin Shujian did not consciously remember how many players he killed, but he guessed that it was around eight or ten.

Taking off the 13 points that came from the guards from his 22 points of Life Value, then deducting the eight points that he originally had, the players he killed probably gave him a total of around one Life Value.

“One Life Value…” Qin Shujian deliberated silently as he looked at his attribute panel.

He had definitely killed more than one player.

However, he only gained a total of one Life Value from the players he killed.

It was either due to the players being too weak or that the Life Value he obtained from killing players differed from the Life Value he gained from killing NPCs.

However, Qin Shujian disregarded that for now.

Qin Shujian also confirmed something important.

He could also gain Life Value by killing players, even if the Life Value he gained were not as much as when he killed NPCs.

Players could be revived.

A source of Life Value like that would be endless.

Qin Shujian had been dejected. However, he felt much better now that he learned that he could obtain Life Value from players.

He had finally found an answer to whether or not he could gain Life Value by killing players.

Then, Qin Shujian did not stay where he was for much longer. He immediately returned to the Liangshan Stronghold.