# Chapter 1: Not Wanting to Be a Cannon Fodder NPC
The mountain was barren.
The grass was withered.
There were barely even a few trees.
All that stood there were crude wooden stockades.
Strictly speaking, this was just a desolate hill—not even passing birds cared to linger here for long.
"Sigh!"
Qin Shujian sat idly on a large boulder, looking thoroughly bored, with a notched saber resting beside him.
Combined with his patched clothes and straw sandals with holes in the toes, he looked far more like a beggar than a bandit.
However—
He genuinely was a bandit.
No, to be precise, a mountain bandit.
Name: Qin Shujian
Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry First Stage
Cultivation Method: Body Forging Scripture, Level 1 (Total of 5 Levels) (Mortal Grade Low-Tier)
Equipment: Dilapidated Saber, Tattered Shirt, Tattered Trousers, Tattered Straw Sandals
This was Qin Shujian's current status panel.
When he first arrived in this world, he thought he had transmigrated and been reborn.
But after a day of figuring things out, Qin Shujian finally realized that he had become an NPC in a game.
As for why he was so certain—
Because in the bottom right corner of his status panel, there was a constantly ticking countdown:
"Time until Player descent: 2 days, 15 hours, 23 minutes, 41 seconds."
"Sigh!"
Seeing this, Qin Shujian let out another long sigh.
The players were coming.
And no matter how he looked at it, his current identity was that of a cannon fodder NPC in the Novice Village.
He existed solely to provide experience points for novice players.
"Killed... respawned, killed again... respawned again."
Qin Shujian suddenly thought of his own past gaming experiences.
Back then, he hadn't felt much sympathy for those cannon fodder NPCs. But now that their positions were reversed, he could deeply feel the tragedy of it all.
Wait!
Qin Shujian's expression suddenly froze.
There was something he seemed to have overlooked.
That was...
The original owner of this body had indeed been an NPC, but now that body had been completely usurped and replaced by him.
Because of this, whether he could still respawn remained an unknown variable.
At this thought, Qin Shujian instantly jolted and leaped off the boulder.
"No... this won't do."
"If I can't respawn, wouldn't I be losing a fortune?"
"There are still just over two days left; I can't just sit here and wait to die."
Qin Shujian took a few deep breaths, staring at the countdown on the status panel as if it were a countdown to his own execution.
He had managed to live a second life with great difficulty; even if he had to be an NPC, it was far better than being completely obliterated.
"Even if I have to be an NPC, I will never be a cannon fodder NPC!"
Qin Shujian silently made a vow to himself.
If he didn't want to be a cannon fodder NPC, the only way to break out of his upcoming predicament was to raise his level... and his strength.
This game didn't have the level divisions he was familiar with from the past.
Instead, it adopted an alternative realm-based progression system.
As for the so-called Body Forging Scripture, Qin Shujian found that such a cultivation method indeed existed within his mind.
However, that was merely a superficial technique for physical training; it required cumulative, day-by-day tempering, and there was no possibility of overnight success in the short term.
Still...
Qin Shujian had his own ideas.
Since this was a game, it undoubtedly revolved around killing NPCs to level up.
As for where to find NPCs to kill?
Qin Shujian glanced at the people walking around and smiled slightly.
He was currently living inside an NPC nest; there was no need to go searching anywhere else.
The only question was: since he himself was an NPC, would killing his own kind actually yield something like experience points or level increases?
Bending down to pick up the notched saber from the boulder, Qin Shujian walked toward a mountain bandit dressed much like himself.
At the same time, the stats of that mountain bandit appeared in his mind.
Name: Zhang Ergou
Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry First Stage
Cultivation Method: Body Forging Scripture, Level 1
Aside from the name, everything else was identical to Qin Shujian's stats.
Whether this was due to some trait of the game or because the other bandits belonged to his own faction, he didn't know.
In any case, whenever Qin Shujian wanted to, he could see through the other person's stats.
Even if he couldn't see every single detail, he could get a rough idea.
When Qin Shujian approached the mountain bandit, the man still stood there blankly, staring outward like a block of wood, motionless.
Qin Shujian had previously tried communicating with these people.
The conclusion he reached in the end was:
Aside from himself, these mountain bandits were no different from the cannon fodder NPCs in his memories.
They hardly ever conversed and possessed almost no intelligence.
They ate and rested, stood guard, and went on patrols strictly on schedule, as if everything operated according to pre-set programming.
"Brother!" Qin Shujian patted the man's shoulder.
Zhang Ergou turned his head to look at him once, then turned right back around.
"Hmph—"
A large hand suddenly clamped over his mouth, followed by a forceful drag pulling him behind a nearby boulder.
Looking at Zhang Ergou—whose mouth and nose were covered, whose limbs were instinctively struggling, and whose vacant eyes held a hint of confusion—Qin Shujian hardened his gaze and abruptly thrust the hand holding the saber.
Although the saber was notched, it was still exceptionally sharp.
With a soft *squelch*, the blade pierced into flesh, and Zhang Ergou was run straight through.
Blood flowed along the wound.
Immediately afterward, a warm current surged from the saber and poured into Qin Shujian's body.
Thud!
Qin Shujian's legs went weak, and he stumbled to the ground, his chest heaving violently, his face turning faintly pale.
He had killed someone!
He had really killed someone!
Looking at Zhang Ergou with his eyes wide open in death, and the stained blade protruding from his chest, the bright red blood was glaringly stark.
Qin Shujian hadn't expected killing an NPC to feel so realistic.
For a brief second, it almost made him mistake this for reality, making him feel as though he wasn't inside a game killing a so-called NPC, but truly murdering a human being.
Fortunately—
Before Qin Shujian could remain shaken for too long, Zhang Ergou's corpse slowly vanished right before his eyes.
Only his original notched saber, having lost its support, clattered to the ground.
Clang!
The soft sound of the saber striking the ground finally snapped Qin Shujian back to reality.
Seeing this, he let out a long breath, and his pale complexion recovered quite a bit.
"Good thing... Even though it's a bit too realistic, at least my guess was correct."
If he had actually been asked to kill a real human, Qin Shujian couldn't say whether he had the guts for it, but he certainly wouldn't have been able to drop the blade so decisively without batting an eye.
With his racing heart finally settling down, Qin Shujian remembered the warm current that had just surged within him and immediately checked his status.
Name: Qin Shujian
Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry First Stage
Cultivation Method: Body Forging Scripture, Level 1 (+) (Total of 5 Levels) (Mortal Grade Low-Tier)
Life Source: 1
Equipment: Dilapidated Saber, Tattered Shirt, Tattered Trousers, Tattered Straw Sandals
The status panel was still the same status panel.
The only difference was the addition of a "Life Source" stat.
Furthermore, a plus sign had appeared right next to Level 1 of the Body Forging Scripture.
Seeing that plus sign, Qin Shujian's mind stirred, and his consciousness gently clicked on it.
He watched as the 1 point of Life Source instantly dropped to zero.
Meanwhile, in the cultivation method section, the characters for "Body Forging Scripture" flickered and distorted. Immediately afterward, a surge of power welled up from within his body, as if some subtle transformation was taking place.
---
# Chapter 2: Martial Entry Second Stage
Name: Qin Shujian
Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry Second Stage
Cultivation Method: Body Forging Scripture, Level 2 (Total of 5 Levels) (Mortal Grade Low-Tier)
Life Source: 0
Equipment: Dilapidated Saber, Tattered Shirt, Tattered Trousers, Tattered Straw Sandals
The 1 point of Life Source had been directly wiped clean.
The cultivated Body Forging Scripture had evolved from Level 1 to Level 2, and the realm column had changed from Martial Entry First Stage to Martial Entry Second Stage.
"My strength has increased by about twofold."
Picking up the notched saber from the ground, Qin Shujian weighed it in his hand and found it felt much lighter than before.
Muscles were now faintly bulging on his previously thin and withered arms.
He then stretched his limbs on the spot, gaining a much clearer understanding of his own body.
"My overall physical qualities seem to have improved to a certain extent, though not as obviously as the increase in raw strength."
Squeezing the muscles on his body, he noticed the surface of his skin had also gained a certain resilience.
This was the effect of advancing the Body Forging Scripture by one level.
The Body Forging Scripture was essentially Liangshan Stronghold's exclusive cultivation method; thus far, every NPC Qin Shujian had encountered practiced it.
As for the purpose of the Body Forging Scripture, it was as the name implied: body forging.
Tempering the physical body and nourishing one's strength.
When trained to the fifth level of mastery, one could circulate physical force throughout the entire body, allowing every strike and movement to unleash explosive maximum strength.
As for the "Mortal Grade Low-Tier" designation shown for the Body Forging Scripture, Qin Shujian guessed that this referred to the grade of the cultivation method.
Following normal theoretical judgment, this belonged to the lowest tier.
Above it should be things like Mortal Grade Mid-Tier and Mortal Grade High-Tier.
Even if he had never eaten pork, hadn't he seen a pig run?
Qin Shujian still knew a thing or two about these normal otherworldly—cough—gaming theoretical knowledge.
As for Life Source:
"Killing an NPC like Zhang Ergou added one point to the Life Source stat. It should be something obtained from killing NPCs, though I don't know if killing players will also yield it."
Qin Shujian's thoughts spun.
"Consuming one point of Life Source raises the Body Forging Scripture by one level and increases my realm by one stage. That's equivalent to leveling up directly. If it works like this, leveling up in this game is actually quite easy."
"After all... in this Liangshan Stronghold, these mindless NPCs probably wouldn't suspect that their companions would want to harm them."
"I wonder if Zhang Ergou has respawned by now?"
Abruptly, his thoughts drifted far away.
Then, Qin Shujian gave a fierce shake of his head. Thinking about these things right now was meaningless to him.
His top priority was to figure out a way to raise the Body Forging Scripture to the fifth level.
That way, before the players arrived, he could elevate his personal strength to a higher level, allowing him to shake off the identity of a cannon fodder NPC.
Having set a rough goal for his "short-term" future, Qin Shujian gripped the notched saber and stepped out from behind the boulder.
As luck would have it, another patrolling mountain bandit was walking over from a distance.
Qin Shujian walked openly right toward him.
Just like Zhang Ergou, this patrolling mountain bandit showed no vigilance whatsoever toward Qin Shujian.
In fact, when Qin Shujian drew close, the man merely glanced at him indifferently and walked right past.
The moment the patrolling mountain bandit's back was turned to him, Qin Shujian clamped one hand over the man's mouth and nose while wrapping his other arm around his throat, dragging him straight behind the boulder.
With his cultivation advanced to the Martial Entry Second Stage, his strength had doubled.
Against a patrolling bandit who was only at the Martial Entry First Stage, Qin Shujian faced virtually no resistance and dragged him away with ease.
He repeated the exact same trick.
Up went the hand, down came the blade.
Blood splattered once more as another patrolling mountain bandit fell to the ground in confusion, never to get up again.
This time, having gained experience, Qin Shujian looked at the bloody scene and, although his face was still somewhat pale, he didn't stumble and fall to the ground like before. It was just that—
This scene was simply too realistic.
So realistic that the rich scent of blood constantly filled Qin Shujian's nostrils.
He could only silently repeat words of comfort in his heart: *"This isn't real, it's just a game, and what I killed is just an NPC."*
He familiarly checked his status panel:
Name: Qin Shujian
Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry Second Stage
Cultivation Method: Body Forging Scripture, Level 2 (Total of 5 Levels) (Mortal Grade Low-Tier)
Life Source: 1
Equipment: Dilapidated Saber, Tattered Shirt, Tattered Trousers, Tattered Straw Sandals
Just as Qin Shujian had suspected, Life Source indeed increased by exactly one point for every NPC killed.
However—
Qin Shujian looked at the cultivation method section, his brows furrowed deeply.
The plus sign he had anticipated did not appear this time.
This meant that the Body Forging Scripture could not be upgraded just yet.
"Before, 1 point of Life Source was enough to advance the Body Forging Scripture by one level. Now I also have 1 point of Life Source, but I can't upgrade it again. Is the amount of Life Source insufficient, or is it that I can't upgrade consecutively?"
Qin Shujian pondered inwardly.
If it was the former reason, that would be fine. At worst, he could just kill a few more NPCs—after all, he had never expected that a single NPC could upgrade the Body Forging Scripture all by themselves.
If it were that easy, a few simple bandit kills would probably max out the Body Forging Scripture instantly.
But if it was the latter, things would get troublesome.
Because what he lacked most right now was time.
If every upgrade came with a so-called cooldown period, that would genuinely be bad news.
Once the fallen bandit vanished, Qin Shujian made up his mind to continue testing his hypothesis.
After all, any hypothesis needed to be tested in practice to verify its authenticity.
Fortunately, Liangshan Stronghold lacked nothing except mountain bandits; there were plenty of those to go around.
Within the small mountain territory, at least fifty-plus bandits were gathered.
Soon, Qin Shujian left his spot.
The disappearance of two bandits didn't seem to have caused any stir in Liangshan Stronghold.
Or rather, no one even knew that those two bandits had gone missing.
Before long, Qin Shujian encountered another stray bandit wandering around patrolling the mountain alone.
Having gained the experience of his previous two successes, he now possessed a great deal of confidence.
There were no accidents.
With practiced ease, he forcefully dragged the lone bandit into a visually obscured spot and cleanly and decisively finished him off.
After dispatching this bandit, Qin Shujian checked his stats once more.
Just as he knew, Life Source had gone from 1 point to 2 points.
However, in the cultivation method section, Body Forging Scripture Level 2 still sat there alone and unchanged.
The anticipated plus sign did not appear.
Qin Shujian took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and could only attribute this to still lacking enough Life Source.
After all—
He didn't want to admit that the progression of the Body Forging Scripture actually had a cooldown restriction.
Suppressing his restless heart, he immediately picked his next target.
One, two...
Every time he killed a bandit, Qin Shujian checked his status. Finding no changes, he continued to hunt for the next target.
When he killed the fourth bandit—
Qin Shujian checked his stats once again, and his expression finally shifted.
---
# Chapter 3: One Step at a Time
Name: Qin Shujian
Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry Second Stage
Cultivation Method: Body Forging Scripture, Level 2 (+) (Total of 5 Levels) (Mortal Grade Low-Tier)
Life Source: 5
Equipment: Dilapidated Saber, Tattered Shirt, Tattered Trousers, Tattered Straw Sandals
Once his Life Source reached 5 points, a plus sign finally appeared beside Level 2 of the Body Forging Scripture.
Without any hesitation, Qin Shujian used his consciousness to click on it.
The 5 points of Life Source instantly vanished to zero.
Hum!
The text for Body Forging Scripture Level 2 transformed directly into Level 3 within his mind.
His realm also shifted directly from Martial Entry Second Stage to Martial Entry Third Stage.
A warm current surged around his body, instantly spreading through all his limbs and bones, and his blood qi began to boil slightly.
At that moment, the distance between his flesh and blood seemed to tighten, and his slightly pale skin took on a bit more resilience.
"My strength has roughly doubled again compared to the previous baseline."
It was as if Qin Shujian had practiced the Body Forging Scripture for many years; he instantly became familiar with everything related to Level 3 of the scripture.
He had a clear, absolute sense of mastery over every single inch of improvement in his body.
A doubling of strength based on his previous foundation was no small upgrade.
You must know:
When he advanced from Martial Entry First Stage to Martial Entry Second Stage, his strength had already doubled.
Now, advancing from Martial Entry Second Stage to Martial Entry Third Stage had doubled his strength yet again.
This meant that compared to his initial strength at the very beginning, he was now four times as strong.
Moreover—
An increase in strength wasn't just a simple case of one plus one equals two.
Having broken through to the Martial Entry Third Stage, Qin Shujian suddenly had a premonition: even if he were to face those mountain bandits head-on right now, a group of ten would probably struggle to pose any real threat to him.
In addition—
"After advancing to the Martial Entry Third Stage, my overall physical qualities have also improved to a certain extent. While not as dramatic as a direct doubling of physical strength, it's still a massive leap."
After briefly familiarizing himself with his physical condition, Qin Shujian looked back at his status panel.
The Life Source column had been wiped clean.
"Going from Body Forging Scripture Level 1 to Level 2 only required 1 point of Life Source."
"Going from Level 2 to Level 3, however, required 5 points of Life Source."
"That gap represents a fivefold difference."
Doing the quick math, Qin Shujian felt a sharp ache in his teeth.
If it truly scaled by a factor of five, wiping out every single bandit in Liangshan Stronghold might not even be enough to push the Body Forging Scripture to the fifth level.
However, after experiencing the magnitude of the boost brought by advancing a tier, Qin Shujian felt it was only reasonable.
Otherwise, the difficulty of this game would simply be too trivial.
"Body Forging Scripture Level 3 corresponds to Martial Entry Third Stage, so Level 5 should correspond to Martial Entry Fifth Stage. Following the pattern where each tier doubles the gains..."