Chapter 4: Self-Proclaimed Loyal Mountain Bandits

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Stage: Martial-Entry Level Four

Cultivated Technique: Bodyforge Manual Level Four (Five Levels in Total) (Mortal Tier Low Grade)

Life Value: 2

Equipment: Larg,e Chipped Blade, Tattered Shirt, Tattered Trousers, Tattered Straw Sandals

As he wished for, Qin Shujian’s stage enhanced to Martial-Entry Level Four after he got 25 Life Value points.

However, he noticed that his strength did not double again this time around. It only increased by 30% to 40%.

His conjecture that his strength would double with every level increase was undoubtedly proven wrong.

“Indeed, it is impossible for my strength to be doubled indefinitely. Otherwise, I would reach a terrifying state in no time at all,” he thought.

“From the looks of things, the degree of improvement is affected by my current level of power.”

“I managed to double my power last time because I was too weak.”

Qin Shujian killed another two Mountain Bandits after his strength increased. However, he had no choice but to stop after that.

He didn’t stop because he was suddenly stung by his conscience. Ever since he started to not see the Mountain Bandits in the Liangshan Stronghold as human, he no longer felt anything for them after killing so many of them.

Of course, it was also not that he had killed all of the Mountain Bandits in the Liangshan Stronghold.

In reality, in terms of the number of the Mountain Bandits in the Liangshan Stronghold, Qin Shujian had only killed, at the very most, half of all of them.

The real reason that caused Qin Shujian to stop was that he received a hint in his mind after killing his thirty-third Mountain bandit.

“You have already attracted the attention of the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain, Wu Sheng, as you have massacred the Mountain Bandits of the Liangshan Stronghold without regard. The Liangshan Stronghold is on high alert and is actively searching for the culprit.”

“Note: Once you take action and kill another Mountain Bandit of the Liangshan Stronghold, you will completely expose yourself.”

“After your identity has been exposed, you will be ousted out of the Liangshan Stronghold and become a wandering NPC. The Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain will also pursue you!”

“The abilities of the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain far exceed the Mountain Bandits of the Liangshan Stronghold. Please take note!”

Qin Shujian had no choice but to stop what he was doing for the time being when he received these four notifications from the system.

The system had explicitly warned him about the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain twice. It was clear that the abilities of the other party should not be underestimated.

Qin Shujian was not prepared to take action on the rest of the Mountain Bandits until he found out more about the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain, Wu Sheng.

He also did not know what would happen if he was ousted out of the Liangshan Stronghold and became a wandering NPC.

However, based on Qin Shujian’s conjecture, the outcome would not be good.

At least Qin Shujian was not prepared to take any risks before discovering more about the situation.

“The next course of action… I should first go have a look at the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain!” Qin Shujian deliberated for a moment, then immediately came to a decision.

He could only guarantee his victory if he knew who he was going up against.

There was a high possibility that he would have to battle the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain at some point if he was to continue on his journey.

He could take this opportunity to scout the strength of the other party.

He would make other plans if he really could not defeat his opponent.

If the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain was only of average strength, Qin Shujian should not be blamed for rebelling against him.

The Liangshan Stronghold was not large.

The area around him was unscalable cliffs. There was only one path up the mountain.

There were many oddly-shaped rocks on the mountain, leaving only a small area at the mountain peak where the stronghold could be built.

The Liangshan Stronghold wasn’t really a stronghold. It was more like a collection of a dozen wooden houses that circled the area.

In the middle of the Liangshan Stronghold was a relatively simple main hall.

On the brown inscribed board were two large, slanted words:

Zhongyi Hall!

Qin Shujian froze for a moment when he saw the words.

It was not for any particular reason. Qin Shujian felt that those words looked very familiar.

He did not know that Mountain Bandits also thought of themselves as loyal men.

There were not many Mountain Bandits guarding Zhongyi Hall.

Perhaps it was because Qin Shujian was also a member of the Mountain Bandits that no one stopped him from approaching the area.

As Qin Shujian walked inside Zhongyi Hall, he noticed the space was not large.

There were only a few tables and chairs placed symmetrically on both sides of the hall. In the middle of the hall were a wooden table and a set of chairs. There was a hide of an unknown creature draped over the table and a muscular man sitting behind the table.

Unlike the tattered clothing that the ordinary Mountain Bandits wore, this muscular man was dressed in pristine silk. Beside him was a toothed blade that was half the height of an average man. There seemed to be a faint, icy glow on the edge of the blade.

Even though the muscular bloke was sitting there without moving, there seemed to be a ferocious aura pushing toward Qin Shujian.

The Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain!

Qin Shujian recognized the other party instantly. The other party’s attributes appeared in his mind at the same time.

Name: Wu Sheng

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Stage: Martial-Entry Level Four

“What?”

Qin Shujian was shocked when he read to this point.

All of the other party’s attributes would be fully displayed when he looked at the ordinary Mountain Bandits. However, only half of Wu Sheng’s attributes were shown when he looked at Wu Sheng. There was no information about the technique he cultivated and the equipment he had.

However, the tension in his heart gradually eased when he saw Wu Sheng.

Martial-Entry Level Four.

In actuality, he had not expected that.

Not because it was too high.

But because it was so low.

Based on Qin Shujian’s guess, he had thought that there was a high possibility that Wu Sheng was Martial-Entry Level Five or even higher.

However, his level was equal to Wu Sheng at Martial-Entry Level Four. That was good news.

“Why did you come?” Wu Sheng stared at Qin Shujian with a look of fury when he saw Qin Shujian arrive. His tone was unfriendly.

He recognized this person–he was a member of the Mountain Bandits. He was one of his men.

The thing that gave him the deepest impression of this person was his name.

His name was Qin… Qin Shujian, or something like that.

To Wu Sheng, that name was hard to remember and did not sound right. It did not sound as good, nor was it as easy to remember as the names of the other Mountain Bandits like Zhang Ergou, Li Gouwa, or Wang Goudan.

Furthermore, there seemed to be a problem with the Liangshan Stronghold today. Several Mountain Bandits have disappeared, but nobody could find the reason why.

This matter made Wu Sheng furious.

His mood would not get any better now that he saw Qin Shujian.

“Stronghold Chieftain, I know the reason as to why the other brothers disappeared,” Qin Shujian said secretively as he let out a cough.

Wu Sheng’s expression turned serious. He said anxiously, “Tell me, quick.”

Wu Sheng’s reaction made Qin Shujian slightly shocked.

Judging from the rest of the Mountain Bandits’ reactions from the Liangshan Stronghold, Qin Shujian thought that Wu Sheng would be like the rest of the Mountain Bandits. He had believed that Wu Sheng was an NPC that did not possess much intelligence.

However, he witnessed the rich display of emotion from the other party through their conversation.

Wu Sheng seemed to be different from the Mountain Bandit NPCs. To some extent, he felt more like a human.

“When I was patrolling the mountain today, I happened to see…”

Qin Shujian slowly walked toward Wu Sheng as he spoke.

Wu Sheng did not react. He had placed his attention on Qin Shujian’s words.

“What did you see?”

“See… This blade!”

The large blade in Qin Shujian’s hand cleaved down ferociously toward Wu Sheng’s head.

Wu Sheng came to his senses just in time to see the harsh glow of the blade slicing down toward him.

“Insolence!”

Wu Sheng was immeasurably shocked. He scooped up the large blade beside him without thinking and raised it to defend himself against the attack.

Qin Shujian grabbed onto his blade with both hands. His arms’ muscles contracted as he activated his strength as a Martial-Entry Level Four fighter to the extreme. He poured all of his power onto his blade.

Wu Sheng was also at Martial-Entry Level Four. However, his defense had come when he was caught off guard, and he could not muster much of his strength.

Clank!

An intense sound erupted as the two blades collided.

Wu Sheng’s arm trembled, and his grip was shaken open. The large blade in his hands fell out of his grasp and onto the ground.

Just as Qin Shujian was about to seize the opportunity to execute Wu Sheng, his large blade suddenly cracked from the middle. He was left with half his blade.

The sudden change caused him to freeze for a moment visibly.

He then reacted immediately.

He thrust his half-blade forward while Wu Sheng mustered all of his strength and fell toward a chair by the side.

Creak…

The broken blade stabbed into Wu Sheng’s shoulder.

“Ah!”

Wu Sheng exclaimed in pain. Large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Die!

Qin Shujian had a merciless gaze. He did not waste time to pull out his blade. Instead, he released his grip and balled his hands into fists as he beat down on Wu Sheng.

A full-powered punch from a person at Martial-Entry Level Four had to have had 400 to 500 pounds of force.

Rather than a simple punch, it felt more like a hit from a heavy hammer.

There were no forms or techniques.

Qin Shujian’s fists rained down on Wu Sheng. He unleashed a barrage on Wu Sheng’s face.

At the start, Wu Sheng managed to retaliate a little.

However, as time passed, Wu Sheng could only let himself be beaten up. He could only howl pathetically as he suffered from Qin Shujian’s beating.

Until finally…

The pathetic cries gradually became softer.

Qin Shujian only stopped when Wu Sheng had no breath left. He could not stop panting.