Full marrow

"Each Elite Leader will command three Senior Leaders, each Senior Leader will command three Junior Leaders, and each Junior Leader will oversee ten Ordinary Bandits."

Qin Shujian spoke calmly.

He had already given these matters some thought.

He simply had not put them into practice while the problem with the players remained unresolved.

Now that the player problem had eased and Liangshan Stronghold had grown considerably stronger, things were finally on track.

Some necessary arrangements therefore needed to be completed.

At present, Liangshan Stronghold had only a little over a hundred Bandits.

But if he truly wanted to make it bigger and stronger, that number of Bandits was far from enough.

Qin Shujian already intended to expand Liangshan Stronghold, but had yet to act on it.

Once he finished speaking,

Zheng Fang and the others voiced no objections.

Clearly,

they were satisfied with this hierarchy as well.

"Although the Otherworlder Village has been destroyed, there may still be other Otherworlder Villages in the Liangshan Area. Your task now is to thoroughly search everywhere within fifty li of Liangshan and make sure nothing is overlooked."

Finally, Qin Shujian issued another order.

Zheng Fang and the others cupped their hands and replied, "As you command!"

"Go." Qin Shujian waved a hand.

The others then rose and took their leave.

Only Qin Shujian remained in the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.

Whew!

Qin Shujian could not help exhaling a stale breath.

Only now had he truly relaxed.

How could he let someone else sleep soundly right beside his bed?

Until Beginner Village 10021 was destroyed, he could neither eat nor sleep in peace.

Fortunately, everything was developing as he had anticipated.

Putting aside thoughts that did not belong there, Qin Shujian began to carefully tally his gains from destroying the Novice Village.

First,

Liangshan Stronghold had advanced to a First-Tier Power, raising every Bandit's cultivation by two levels.

This meant that even the most ordinary Bandits of Liangshan Stronghold possessed Martial Entry Third Level strength.

Moreover, no matter how many times they died, their cultivation would never fall below Martial Entry Third Level upon revival.

After all, the previous stronghold chief, Wu Sheng, had only been at Martial Entry Third Level without the power's enhancement.

That alone showed how much Liangshan Stronghold's strength had changed.

What truly interested Qin Shujian, however, was his own attributes.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold chief

Affiliated power: Liangshan Stronghold

Cultivation: Martial entry tenth level (within Liangshan Stronghold's territory, cultivation +2)

Power tier: First-Tier Power

Techniques: Body Tempering Scripture, eighth level (+) (strength follows intent, vigorous qi and blood, Copper Skin, iron bones) (Mortal Tier, Middle Grade), Black Tiger Saber Technique (Heaven-Man Unity) (Mortal Tier, Middle Grade), Everlasting Spring Technique, Sixth Level (+) (unceasing vitality, longevity) (Mortal Tier, Middle Grade), Seven Leaves Piercing Flowers Palm (+) (proficiency) (Mortal Tier, Low Grade), Five Elements Eight Trigrams Step (+) (peak perfection) (Mortal Tier, Low Grade)

Life Source: 1203

Equipment: Ninth-Rank Sharp Weapon, Tiger Head Saber; Ninth-Rank Armor, Tiger Hide Outfit (Tiger Hide Coat, Tiger Hide Trousers, Tiger Hide Belt, Tiger Hide Boots)

Compared to his starting attributes,

Qin Shujian's current panel was nothing short of impressive.

The eighth level of the Body Tempering Scripture and the Sixth Level of the Everlasting Spring Technique.

And—

the Black Tiger Saber Technique at Heaven-Man Unity.

If peak perfection was the limit of the Mortal Tier, Middle Grade Black Tiger Saber Technique,

then Heaven-Man Unity surpassed that limit, reaching a point where the mundane became miraculous.

In other words,

Qin Shujian's understanding of the Black Tiger Saber Technique had surpassed that of the person—or NPC—who originally created it.

His ability to kill Wei Min was also largely thanks to the Black Tiger Saber Technique at Heaven-Man Unity.

Afterward, Qin Shujian looked at his other attributes.

A power tier attribute had appeared beneath his affiliated power.

Previously, Liangshan Stronghold had only granted a cultivation +1 enhancement. Now it had become cultivation +2, increasing his strength considerably once again.

However,

what truly delighted Qin Shujian was that

his Life Source had reached an unprecedented total of over twelve hundred points.

With over a thousand Life Source points available, every technique except the Black Tiger Saber Technique now displayed a plus sign, indicating that it could be developed and improved.

Of those thousand-plus Life Source points, five hundred had come from advancing to a First-Tier Power.

Another substantial portion had come from Wei Min, the Novice Village chief.

Qin Shujian estimated that those two sources together accounted for eight or nine hundred points.

Only the remainder had come from the Life Source he gained by killing players at the end.

With 1203 life source points, I wonder how far I can develop the Body Tempering Scripture, Qin Shujian mused.

Then,

He immediately clicked the plus sign beside the Body Tempering Scripture.

Hum!

His Life Source plummeted by nine hundred points.

The Body Tempering Scripture immediately advanced to the ninth level.

Pain!

An agonizing pain suddenly surged through his body.

Even with Qin Shujian's tenacious willpower, his face instantly twisted into a grimace.

This was not merely the pain of injured flesh.

It was excruciating pain coming from his bones, even his marrow.

Despite his efforts to control himself, his body still trembled slightly. In little more than ten seconds, sweat had soaked his clothes.

This agony

lasted only five minutes.

Yet during those five minutes, Qin Shujian felt as though an eternity had passed, leaving him mentally drained.

Immediately afterward,

he opened his mouth and spat out several mouthfuls of black blood.

Unlike before, however, the blood he spat out this time seemed to contain tiny fragments of some kind.

Then,

a newborn power surged from every part of his body.

As that power washed through him, Qin Shujian's flagging spirit recovered at an astonishing speed.

The ninth level of the Body Tempering Scripture!

Martial Entry Ninth Level!

At the same time, he gained a brand-new trait: Full Marrow.

Feeling the changes in his body and looking at the attributes on his panel, Qin Shujian gained a new understanding of his cultivation.

Below Martial Entry Fifth Level, one was laying the body's foundation. Only upon reaching Martial Entry Fifth Level was its initial tempering complete.

Beyond that,

the process delved deeper, drawing out the human body's potential more comprehensively.

Martial Entry Sixth Level: Vigorous Qi and Blood; Martial Entry Seventh Level: Copper Skin; Martial Entry Eighth Level: Iron Bones; Martial Entry Ninth Level: Full Marrow.

Each stage tempered the physical body, step by step, toward perfection.

"Martial Entry Ninth Level, Full Marrow!"

A delighted smile appeared on Qin Shujian's face. Every breakthrough made him feel as though he had undergone a transformation.

Even if the process was somewhat painful, the result always satisfied him.

Looking at his remaining Life Source, which had fallen to just over three hundred points,

he saw that neither the Body Tempering Scripture nor the Black Tiger Saber Technique could be improved. Only the Everlasting Spring Technique and the other techniques still had plus signs beside them.

After careful consideration,

Qin Shujian still felt that increasing his most fundamental strength as much as possible was what mattered most.

Although the Everlasting Spring Technique could not currently raise his cultivation, it could deepen his reserves within the same level.

Thus, Qin Shujian immediately chose to improve the Everlasting Spring Technique.

With a thought,

his Life Source plummeted.

A gentle, soothing power surged through his body, and the Everlasting Spring Technique immediately advanced to the seventh level.

Everlasting Spring Technique, seventh level (unceasing vitality, longevity level two)

"Longevity level two?"

As Qin Shujian looked at the Everlasting Spring Technique's attributes, his gaze shifted.

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