One Step at a Time

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Ordinary Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Cultivation realm: Entering Martial Second Layer

Cultivation technique: Body Tempering Scripture, second layer (+) (five layers total) (Mortal Tier, Low Grade)

Life Source: 5

Equipment: Chipped saber, ragged shirt, ragged trousers, worn straw sandals

Once his Life Source reached five points, a plus sign finally appeared after the second layer of the Body Tempering Scripture.

Without any hesitation, Qin Shujian mentally tapped it.

His five Life Source points immediately dropped to zero.

Hum!

The words "second layer" beside the Body Tempering Scripture transformed into "third layer" in his mind.

His cultivation realm also changed directly from Entering Martial Second Layer to Martial Entry Third Level.

A warm current surged around his body, instantly spreading through every limb and bone, while his blood began to seethe slightly.

His flesh seemed to grow denser at that moment, and even his somewhat pale skin seemed to gain a measure of toughness.

"My strength has doubled again."

Qin Shujian became familiar with everything about the third layer of the Body Tempering Scripture, as though he had practiced it for years.

He felt as though he knew every inch of his body's improvements like the back of his hand.

Doubling his existing strength was no small improvement.

After all.

When he advanced from Entering Martial First Layer to Entering Martial Second Layer, his strength had already doubled.

Now that he had advanced from Entering Martial Second Layer to Martial Entry Third Level, his strength had doubled again.

That meant his strength was now four times what it had been at the start.

And—

An increase in strength was not as simple as one plus one equaling two.

After breaking through to martial entry third level, Qin Shujian suddenly had a feeling that even if he faced those mountain bandits head-on, fewer than ten would probably pose little threat to him.

Beyond that.

"All my physical attributes have improved somewhat after advancing to Martial Entry Third Level. It isn't as obvious as my strength doubling, but it's still a substantial leap."

After briefly familiarizing himself with his physical condition, Qin Shujian looked at his status panel again.

The Life Source field had dropped to zero.

"Going from the first layer of the Body Tempering Scripture to the second only required one Life Source point."

"But going from the second layer to the third required five life source points."

"That's a full fivefold increase."

After doing the calculations carefully, Qin Shujian felt his teeth ache.

If the cost really increased fivefold each time, even killing every bandit in Liangshan Stronghold might not be enough to raise the Body Tempering Scripture to the fifth layer.

But after seeing the boost each advancement brought, Qin Shujian felt that the cost made sense.

Otherwise, this game would have been far too easy.

“The third layer of the Body Tempering Scripture corresponds to Martial Entry Third Level, so the fifth layer should correspond to Martial Entry Fifth Level. If every advancement doubles my strength...

"Then at Martial Entry Fifth Level, I could probably take on a hundred men!" Qin Shujian speculated to himself.

That would be sixteen times the strength of Entering Martial First Layer.

But—

These were all assumptions, and he could not take them entirely as fact.

Learning that improving the Body Tempering Scripture had no cooldown and only required Life Source gave Qin Shujian some comfort.

It's just Life Source!

There were so many Bandits throughout Liangshan that he would not need to worry about that problem until he had killed them all.

After all, he was only at Martial Entry Third Level now. He did not need to concern himself with Martial Entry Fifth Level yet.

He had to keep his feet on the ground.

One step at a time, growing bigger and stronger.

That was what truly mattered.

With his strength raised to Martial Entry Third Level, Qin Shujian felt that he now counted as an expert within Liangshan Stronghold.

At the very least, those lowly NPC lackeys at Entering Martial First Layer could hardly threaten him anymore.

And if he wanted more Life Source, waiting for prey to come to him was no longer practical.

Besides, if too many Bandits died, there was no guarantee that the chief of Liangshan Stronghold would not notice.

A bandit stronghold had a chief, after all.

And the chief was the strongest NPC in the stronghold.

Although Qin Shujian had never seen the chief of Liangshan Stronghold in person, he knew that the chief was nothing like these lowly NPC lackeys at Entering Martial First Layer.

"I need to improve my strength as much as possible before the chief of Liangshan Stronghold notices."

"That way, even if I'm discovered and can't win, I can at least make sure I can escape."

Having made up his mind, Qin Shujian decided to take the initiative.

Picking off isolated NPCs one at a time had been far too slow.

There were only a little over two days left before the players arrived. If he kept wasting time, he might end up with no way out but death.

Soon—

Qin Shujian had not walked far before he spotted three Bandits.

Two were on patrol, while the third stood guard.

Closing in at a brisk pace, Qin Shujian did not hesitate. His saber swept through the air with a fierce rush of wind, slashing straight at one patrolling Bandit's neck.

With four times an Ordinary Bandit's strength, the chipped saber felt weightless in his hand, and his strikes were far faster than before.

The patrolling Bandit had no time to react before the blade struck his neck.

Thud!

A massive head flew into the air amid a spray of blood.

The sudden turn of events left the other patrolling Bandit and the guard struggling to react.

But a vicious gleam soon appeared in both Bandits' eyes. Though they were not particularly intelligent, they could still understand what was happening before them.

Just as they were about to act, Qin Shujian moved first.

He lunged forward and slashed diagonally with a backhand swing, his blade striking the other patrolling Bandit's shoulder with incredible speed.

The blade sliced down through the shoulder, cutting three inches below the throat.

"Aah!"

With a brief scream, the patrolling Bandit collapsed dead.

By then, the guard's saber was already slashing toward him. Qin Shujian immediately pulled his blade free and met the attack head-on.

Clang! Clang!

Sparks burst from the clashing blades, and the guard's saber was knocked clean out of his hands.

Then Qin Shujian delivered another slash, cutting the guard down as well.

And that was that.

In barely five seconds, all three Bandits were dead.

His strength at Martial Entry Third Level utterly overwhelmed these Bandits, who were only at Entering Martial First Layer.

Qin Shujian was slightly out of breath. Killing three Bandits in one go had not left him entirely unspent.

Still, that brief clash had given him another clear understanding of his own strength.

Watching the fallen Bandits disappear, Qin Shujian felt delighted by his haul of three Life Source points. Saber in hand, he continued searching for his next target.

Before long, more Bandits came into view.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Shujian raised his saber and went straight over to cut them down—no, to cut down the NPCs.