A Level Above

Those who commit heinous crimes lived a life of prosperity, while honest men wouldn't be remembered after they died.

Qin Shujian only truly understood what that adage meant now.

He had obtained a large amount of loot from annihilating the Chengyun Merchant House this time around.

With the batch of silver taels they got, the Liangshan Stronghold would not have to worry about food for a long time.

But, compared to this batch of goods, there was something else that made Qin Shujian even happier.

The 83 Life Value points.

It was the first time in history that he obtained such a large number of Life Value.

If not for the Chengyun Merchant House's contribution, he might not have managed to obtain such a large amount of Life Value even if he massacred all of the Mountain Bandits on Liangshan.

More importantly, through this incident, Qin Shujian found out about an alternative method of obtaining Life Value.

That was, he could also obtain the corresponding Life Value from the NPCs that his subordinates killed.

This revelation could be said to be the most crucial thing for Qin Shujian.

In fact, it would play a pivotal role in his future decisions.

He had to spend upward of a hundred Life Value if he wanted to advance to Martial Entry-Level Five. What's more, there might even be Martial Entry-Level Six or Martial Entry-Level Seven after he reached Level Five.

As he advanced, the subsequent advancement in level would require an astronomical amount of Life Value.

If Qin Shujian had to gather the Life Value himself, he might not be able to collect enough Life Value to advance in level even if he killed NPCs until he got old.

However, the situation was different now.

Not only would he be able to obtain Life Value if he killed NPCs, but he would also be able to get Life Value if his subordinates killed NPCs.

Furthermore, he might also be able to obtain Life Value if he killed Players in the future.

Qin Shujian had only killed Han Jing in the battle against the Chengyun Merchant House.

The rest of the merchant team's guard had been dealt with by the Mountain Bandits from the Liangshan Stronghold.

In other words, if he had been alone, it would have been impossible for him to exterminate everyone from the Chengyun Merchant House. It would also have been impossible for him to obtain these many points of Life Value.

At the start, Qin Shujian had been frustrated about becoming the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain. He had thought that it was a limitation on him.

However, now Qin Shujian had completely tossed that thought aside.

It was great to be a Mountain Bandit.

It was even better to be the leader of the Mountain Bandits.

Currently, there were a total of 70 Mountain Bandits on Liangshan. While their abilities were not strong, the overall strength of the Liangshan Stronghold would increase exponentially if their numbers doubled or if they increased tenfold.

As the Liangshan Stronghold's strength increased, it also meant that he would be able to obtain more Life Value.

What do Mountain Bandits do?

Rob and steal from others?

Respect the strong and bully the weak?

To Qin Shujian, all of this was unimportant.

What was more important was that he had found a shortcut to increase his strength rapidly.

Currently, Qin Shujian had another ambition in his heart.

He wanted to be the most powerful head honcho of the Mountain Bandits.

This ambition did not come into conflict with his original goal. Instead, it complemented what he wished to achieve.

"Sigh, a person must have a goal in life. Only then will they be motivated to move forward!" Qin Shujian's lips formed a smile. He could not help but feel elated.

However, his main course of action was still to enhance his strength.

Qin Shujian slipped into deep thought as he looked at his 83 Life Value points.

According to his calculations, he should only be 30 or so points of Life Value off from enhancing the Bodyforge Manual to Level Five.

Even though the gap was not large, it was not small either. It was not an easy task to bridge the gap in a short time.

Judging from the battle against Han Jing, even though he had managed to gain the initiative due to external support.

However, if he analyzed the battle carefully, the real reason he obtained an absolute advantage was the exquisite Black Tiger Blade Technique that he had honed to the Adept level.

Through the battle, Qin Shujian realized how much of a boost to his strength the Black Tiger Blade Technique had given him.

"If the Black Tiger Blade Technique was already this powerful at the Adept level, then my strength will be enhanced considerably even if my stage doesn't level up when I push the Black Tiger Blade Technique up another level," he thought.

Qin Shujian's gaze changed for a moment, then finally made his move.

Roar!

A deafening roar rang out.

A black tiger that was the size of two men leaped around within the forest. It displayed its authority as the King of Beasts with every movement.

A fierce aura assaulted Qin Shujian.

Then, the black tiger pounced from its original position and charged toward the front.

…

Boom!

Qin Shujian's heart trembled. A wave of understanding welled up in his heart like a tidal assault.

At this moment, he seemed to have transformed into a black tiger and was roaring within the forest.

The three strokes and 18 forms of the Black Tiger Blade Technique seemed to have come alive as it played out in Qin Shujian's mind.

Qin Shujian only managed to retreat from the wave of understanding sometime later.

There was a terrifying light within his calm eyes. He exuded a formless, authoritative pressure just by standing there.

"Pinnacle!" Qin Shujian muttered.

This was the level higher than the Adept level.

At this level, his understanding of the Black Tiger Blade Technique did not pale compared to the creator of the technique.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Stage: Martial Entry-Level Five (You are within the Liangshan Stronghold's territory, Stage +1)

Cultivated Techniques: Bodyforge Manual Level Four (Five Levels in Total) (Mortal Tier Low Grade), Black Tiger Blade Technique (Pinnacle) (Mortal Tier Mid Grade)

Life Value: 8

Equipment: Ninth-grade Lethal Weapon Tiger Head Blade, Ninth-grade Armor Tiger Hide Clothing Set (Tiger Hide Coat, Tiger Hide Trousers, Tiger Hide Belt, Tiger Hide Boots)

These were Qin Shujian's current attributes.

He had spent 75 of his 83 points of Life Value to enhance the level of his Black Tiger Blade Technique from Adept to Pinnacle.

There were no changes to his stage, but his overall strength had been dramatically transformed.

Qin Shujian had a premonition when the Black Tiger Blade Technique reached the Pinnacle level.

At his current state, he would be able to defeat Han Jing even if he was not injured beforehand.

He was confident even if he did not have the boost he got as the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain.

It had to be understood this way.

Han Jing was definitely a Martial Entry- Level Five expert.

Without the boost he got as the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain, Qin Shujian's stage was only at Martial Entry-Level Four.

However, he had still had the strength and confidence.

The source of their strength and confidence came from the Black Tiger Blade Technique that had reached the Pinnacle level.

Then, Qin Shujian turned his attention to the countdown on the lower right corner.

"Time until the Players descend, 0 days 5 hours 21 minutes 3 seconds!"

Unknowingly, two days had become less than six hours.

That also meant that the Players would arrive in this world in less than six hours.

Qin Shujian took a few deep breaths. He was extremely agitated.

He did not know how the Players would arrive in this world. He also didn't know what kinds of changes there would be when the Players descended onto this world.

Two days was not a long time.

Qin Shujian thought that he had done most of what could be done.

He could not do much with the short time he had left.

The only thing he could do was wait for the Players to arrive.

Qin Shujian sat silently as he looked at the timer.

The Zhongyi Hall slipped into silence.