The Stronghold Chief of Liangshan

The long string of information nearly left Qin Shujian reeling.

When he saw the final few notifications, his expression darkened at once.

He was not permitted to leave Liangshan Stronghold's territory at will.

That meant he had effectively been imprisoned on Liangshan Stronghold's little patch of land.

After he became the Liangshan Stronghold Chief, all the terrain surrounding Liangshan Stronghold flooded into Qin Shujian's mind.

Everything within a fifty-li radius of Liangshan belonged to Liangshan Stronghold.

But beyond that territory lay the domains of other factions.

There was no buffer zone whatsoever between them.

In other words, the moment Qin Shujian left Liangshan Stronghold's territory, he would enter another faction's domain.

If he did that, a stroke of bad luck could make it tantamount to declaring war.

Before he learned more about the surrounding factions, Qin Shujian did not dare take that risk.

And so—

That was what infuriated Qin Shujian the most.

Without realizing it, he had been played.

Had he known that becoming the Liangshan Stronghold Chief came at such a price, he might not have acted so rashly.

But what was done was done. It was too late for regrets.

From the moment he became the Liangshan Stronghold Chief, Qin Shujian knew there was no turning back.

The stronghold chief's status was guaranteed to drop upon death.

But voluntarily handing it over to another bandit?

Sorry!

Among bandits, strength was king. There was no such thing as graciously yielding one's position.

So Qin Shujian had no choice but to acknowledge one fact.

Namely—

He had suddenly gone from a cannon-fodder NPC to a minor boss who held the position of Liangshan Stronghold's chief.

Even now, Qin Shujian had not forgotten that he still had a reward to choose.

You have become the Liangshan Stronghold Chief. You are awarded a ninth-grade weapon, the Tiger Head Saber, or a ninth-grade armor set, the Tiger-Skin Outfit. Choose one!

The choice was not difficult.

He had already obtained the Tiger Head Saber from Wu Sheng, and there was no reason to get another. That left only one option.

"I'll take the ninth-grade armor set, the Tiger-Skin Outfit!"

In the newly tidied Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, Qin Shujian sat squarely in the seat of honor, dressed in a Tiger Hide Coat.

He had long since discarded his damaged saber. Only the Tiger Head Saber lay beside him.

His attributes had also undergone a slight change.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Chief

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Realm: Martial Entry Fifth Level (within Liangshan Stronghold's territory, realm +1)

Cultivation techniques: Body Tempering Scripture, fourth level (five levels total) (Mortal Tier, Low Grade); Black Tiger Saber Technique (+) (beginner proficiency), Mortal Tier, Middle Grade

Life Source: 18

Equipment: Ninth-grade weapon, Tiger Head Saber; ninth-grade armor set, Tiger-Skin Outfit (tiger-skin coat, tiger-skin trousers, tiger-skin belt, thick tiger-skin boots)

His identity had changed from an Ordinary Bandit to the Liangshan Stronghold Chief. Thanks to the bonus from that identity, his realm had also risen from the Fourth Level of Martial Entry to the Martial Entry Fifth Level.

After reaching the Martial Entry Fifth Level, Qin Shujian discovered that some unknown changes seemed to have taken place in his body.

Yet those changes were not particularly obvious, as though something was still missing.

One thing was certain, though: his strength and every aspect of his physical condition had improved considerably compared with when he was at the Fourth Level of Martial Entry.

"When I saw Wu Sheng, his realm was the Fourth Level of Martial Entry, and that already included the bonus from being within Liangshan's territory."

"Without that bonus, Wu Sheng was actually only at the Martial Entry Third Level."

"The Martial Entry Third Level should roughly correspond to the third level of the Body Tempering Scripture. Wu Sheng had been the stronghold chief for who knows how many years, and his vicious reputation was well known around here. He probably had plenty of blood on his hands.

"In that case, Wu Sheng should have obtained quite a lot of Life Source."

"Yet he was still stuck at the Martial Entry Third Level..."

Qin Shujian pondered for a moment, gently rubbing his chin.

All along, he had assumed that Life Source was a feature available to every NPC in this world.

But now he realized that his thinking might have been off track.

Perhaps—

He alone possessed the ability to improve cultivation techniques with Life Source.

Qin Shujian's thoughts raced, but he did not intend to dwell on the question.

"Someone, come here!"

Soon, two men who looked relatively presentable compared with the other bandits walked in.

"Chief, what are your orders?"

Qin Shujian's expression softened a little as he looked at them.

Only after taking over Liangshan Stronghold had he discovered that not all the bandits were dim-witted.

A handful of Bandits stood apart from the others in both strength and intelligence.

Strictly speaking, these Bandits were Junior Leaders.

One of the two men before him was named Zhang Tieniu, a minor leader at the second level of Martial Entry. He had once been Wu Sheng's right-hand man, but now he served Qin Shujian.

The other was named Wang Tiezhu, another minor leader at the second level of Martial Entry. He also had another occupation: carpenter.

Only when he met Wang Tiezhu did Qin Shujian learn something.

Most of the construction in Liangshan Stronghold had been Wang Tiezhu's handiwork.

Finding two normal people among an entire mountain of dim-witted Bandits truly delighted Qin Shujian.

At the very least.

He had someone he could hold a normal conversation with, rather than going mad from keeping everything bottled up.

After considering for a few moments, Qin Shujian looked at the two men and asked gravely, "You are both leaders in Liangshan Stronghold, so I imagine you're familiar with the surrounding factions.

"Then let me ask you: what places border Liangshan Stronghold?"

Zhang Tieniu replied respectfully, "Chief, our Liangshan Stronghold borders the Lion-Tiger Plains to the north, the Rubble Forest to the east, the Endless Mountains to the south, the Xining Rebels to the west, and finally the Undying Plains to the southeast."

"There are powerful factions entrenched in the Lion-Tiger Plains, the Rubble Forest, the Endless Mountains, and the Undying Plains, but I don't know the specifics."

The Lion-Tiger Plains, the Rubble Forest, the Endless Mountains, the Xining Rebels, the Undying Plains.

Qin Shujian silently repeated each name to himself.

"What about the Xining Rebels?"

"The land occupied by the Xining Rebels was originally called the Xining Plains. But after the rebels took over, people gradually forgot that name and remembered only the rebels.

"Over time, the name 'Xining Rebels' replaced the land's original name."

"How strong are these territories overall? What realm are their strongest fighters at, roughly?"

"The strongest would probably be the Xining Rebels."

Zhang Tieniu looked conflicted and hesitated before speaking.

"I've heard they were rebels who fled here after being defeated in some kingdom. They burn, kill, and plunder wherever they go, and their leader is rumored to be a powerful figure beyond the Martial Entry Fifth Level.

"The other places all have fighters at the Martial Entry Fifth Level as well.

"As for the Endless Mountains, I don't know much about them. But so long as we don't venture inside, they generally don't pose much of a threat."

Hearing this, Qin Shujian gained a basic understanding of these factions.

To put it bluntly.

Of all the factions bordering them, his Liangshan Stronghold was the weakest.

The former chief, Wu Sheng, had been a mere weakling at the Martial Entry Third Level. Even with the bonus, he had barely reached the Fourth Level of Martial Entry.

The other places, however, each had at least one Martial Entry Fifth Level fighter holding the fort.

Qin Shujian glanced at Zhang Tieniu's uncertain expression.

Perhaps the factions in those places were even stronger.

Now that he had taken over Liangshan Stronghold, he possessed Martial Entry Fifth Level strength only within Liangshan's territory. The moment he left, he would revert to his original level.

As for whether the Martial Entry Fifth Level fighters of the other factions were in the same situation, he had no way of knowing yet.

But one thing was certain.

Whether that was the case or not, once he left Liangshan's territory, he was unlikely to beat them.

"How did our Liangshan Stronghold survive before?" Qin Shujian changed tack and asked another question.

Having only just taken over Liangshan Stronghold, there was far too much he did not know.

Since he had already taken charge of the operation, he could only try to make a decent job of it.

The contract is on its way in the mail, and the status should change to signed today or tomorrow. If you haven't invested yet, now's your chance!