Bandits Who Fancied Themselves Loyal and Righteous

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Ordinary Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Realm: Fourth Level of Martial Entry

Cultivation technique: Body Tempering Scripture, fourth level (five levels total) (Mortal Tier, Low Grade)

Life Source: 2

Equipment: Damaged great saber, tattered shirt, tattered trousers, worn straw sandals

Once his Life Source reached 25 points, Qin Shujian raised his realm to the Fourth Level of Martial Entry, just as he had hoped.

However, he discovered that his strength had not doubled this time. It had only increased by roughly thirty to forty percent.

His original theory that his strength would double with every level had undoubtedly been disproven.

"So my strength really can't keep doubling. Otherwise, it wouldn't take long for me to become terrifyingly powerful.

"From the looks of it, the size of the increase probably depends on how strong I already am."

His strength had doubled before because he had been too weak.

After growing stronger, he killed two more bandits, but then he had no choice but to stop.

It was not because Qin Shujian had suddenly grown a conscience.

Ever since he had stopped treating the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold as people, killing more of them had ceased to stir much feeling in him.

Nor was it because he had killed every bandit in Liangshan Stronghold.

In fact, given the stronghold's numbers, he had killed no more than half of them so far.

The real reason Qin Shujian stopped...

Was that when he killed the thirty-third bandit, a notification appeared in his mind.

"Your widespread slaughter of the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold has drawn the attention of Wu Sheng, the stronghold chief. All of Liangshan Stronghold is now under lockdown, and an extensive search for the killer is underway."

"Note: If you kill another bandit of Liangshan Stronghold, your identity will be fully exposed."

"Once your identity is exposed, you will be expelled from Liangshan Stronghold and become a Wandering NPC. The chief of Liangshan Stronghold will also hunt you down!"

"The chief of Liangshan Stronghold is far stronger than its bandits. Exercise caution!"

After receiving these four system messages, Qin Shujian had no choice but to stop for the time being.

The system had specifically warned him about the stronghold chief twice. Clearly, the man's strength was not to be underestimated.

Until he had gauged Liangshan Stronghold Chief Wu Sheng's abilities, Qin Shujian had no intention of attacking the other bandits.

He was not sure what would happen if he was expelled from Liangshan Stronghold and became a Wandering NPC.

But Qin Shujian suspected that it would be nothing good.

At the very least—

He had no intention of taking that risk lightly before he understood the consequences.

"Next, I'll go have a look at this Liangshan Stronghold Chief!" Qin Shujian considered it briefly and made his decision.

Know yourself and your enemy, and you could win every battle.

If he continued down this path, he would most likely end up facing the Liangshan Stronghold Chief.

This was a good opportunity to gauge the man's strength.

If the chief really was too powerful to fight, he would make other plans.

If the Liangshan Stronghold Chief's strength was nothing special, though, the man could hardly blame him for turning on him.

Liangshan Stronghold was not large.

Steep, nearly unclimbable cliffs surrounded it, with only one road leading up the mountain.

Jagged rocks littered the mountain. The only place suitable for building a settlement was a small patch near the summit.

Though called a stronghold, Liangshan Stronghold was really just a dozen or so wooden houses clustered together, enclosing that patch of land.

At the center of Liangshan Stronghold stood a rather crude hall.

Several large characters had been scrawled crookedly across a brown signboard.

Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness!

The words made Qin Shujian pause.

There was no other reason. They simply looked far too familiar.

He wondered whether every bandit and robber fancied himself a man of loyalty and righteousness.

No bandits stood guard at the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.

Perhaps because Qin Shujian was a bandit himself, no one stopped him.

The interior of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness was not spacious.

A few tables and chairs stood on either side. In the middle was a wooden table and chair, with a pelt of some unknown beast draped over the chair. A burly, powerfully built man sat there.

Unlike the ordinary bandits in their tattered clothes, this burly man wore an intact set of silk clothing. Beside him rested a Tiger-Mouth Great Saber half a man's height, its edge glinting coldly.

Even sitting motionless, he seemed to exude a fierce aura that struck anyone facing him.

The Liangshan Stronghold Chief!

Qin Shujian recognized him at first glance, and the man's attributes appeared in his mind at the same time.

Name: Wu Sheng

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Chief

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Cultivation: Fourth Level of Martial Entry

"Hm?"

Qin Shujian felt a flicker of surprise and doubt.

When he had examined the bandits before, their attributes had been displayed in full. But now, only half of Wu Sheng's attributes appeared. Everything from his cultivation technique onward was missing.

Yet once he saw Wu Sheng's realm, his anxiety gradually eased.

Fourth Level of Martial Entry.

Honestly, that was somewhat unexpected.

Not because it was too high.

But because it was too low.

Qin Shujian had originally guessed that Wu Sheng would most likely be at the Martial Entry Fifth Level, or perhaps even higher.

Now that Wu Sheng was at the fourth level, equal to him, this was clearly good news.

"What are you doing here?" Wu Sheng noticed Qin Shujian's arrival as well. His fierce eyes widened in a glare, and his voice was distinctly unfriendly.

He recognized the newcomer as one of the bandits, one of his own men.

What had really left an impression on him was the man's name.

It seemed to be Qin... Qin Shujian.

To Wu Sheng, that name was difficult to remember and did not sound particularly nice. It was nowhere near as pleasant or memorable as the names of the other bandits, such as Zhang Ergou, Li Gouwa, and Wang Goudan.

On top of that, something seemed to have gone wrong in Liangshan Stronghold today. Quite a few bandits had disappeared, yet no one could find the cause.

The matter had left Wu Sheng seething.

Naturally, seeing Qin Shujian did little to improve his mood.

"Chief, I know why the other brothers disappeared." Qin Shujian gave a quiet cough and spoke with a hint of mystery.

Wu Sheng froze for a moment, then urged him, "Tell me, quickly."

Wu Sheng's reaction surprised Qin Shujian slightly.

Judging from the other bandits' behavior, he had assumed Wu Sheng would be much the same—an NPC with little intelligence.

But after exchanging a sentence or two with him and seeing the varied expressions on his face...

Wu Sheng seemed different from those bandit NPCs. In a sense, he was more like a person.

"While I was patrolling the mountain today, I happened to see..."

As he spoke, Qin Shujian advanced toward Wu Sheng, step by step.

Wu Sheng did not react. His attention was entirely on what Qin Shujian was saying.

"See what?"

"See—my saber!"

Qin Shujian swung the great saber in his hands straight down at Wu Sheng's head.

By the time Wu Sheng came to his senses, a vicious flash of steel was already descending upon him.

"How dare you!"

Shocked, Wu Sheng snatched up the Tiger-Head Great Saber beside him without thinking and raised it to block.

Qin Shujian gripped his saber with both hands, the muscles in his arms bulging. He pushed his Fourth Level of Martial Entry strength to its limit and poured it all into the blade.

Wu Sheng was also at the Fourth Level of Martial Entry, but his block was only a makeshift defense, and he had barely managed to muster any strength.

Clang!

The two sabers collided with a deafening crash.

Wu Sheng's arm trembled, and the web between his thumb and forefinger split open from the impact. Unable to hold on, he dropped the Tiger-Head Great Saber to the floor.

Just as Qin Shujian was about to press his advantage and kill Wu Sheng, his great saber suddenly snapped in the middle, leaving only half the blade in his hands.

The abrupt turn of events visibly stunned him.

Then he immediately recovered.

He thrust the broken blade forward with all his might, while Wu Sheng also threw himself to one side of the chair with every ounce of strength he had.

Shhk—

The broken blade pierced flesh, plunging into Wu Sheng's shoulder.

"Aah!"

Wu Sheng cried out in pain, huge beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Die!

Qin Shujian's gaze hardened. Rather than waste time pulling out the saber, he let go of it, clenched his hands into fists, and struck hard at Wu Sheng.

At the Fourth Level of Martial Entry, a full-strength attack with even a bare fist carried nearly four to five hundred jin of force.

It might have been a simple punch, but it struck like a heavy hammer.

There was no technique or pattern to his blows.

Qin Shujian's fists rained down in a relentless barrage, pummeling Wu Sheng's head and face.

At first, Wu Sheng still managed to put up some resistance.

But as time passed, he gradually became capable of nothing but taking the blows, screaming as Qin Shujian beat him.

Until finally—

His screams gradually faded.

Only when there was no sound from Wu Sheng at all did Qin Shujian finally stop, panting heavily.