"For three consecutive months, not a single drop of rain has fallen. The crops have failed completely, and it is said that all thirteen prefectures of the Dazhao nation have been affected. Warlords are rising up everywhere, and the people can no longer make a living," Zheng Fang said with a bitter smile, shaking his head and sighing.
"On one hand, the drought has ruined the harvest; on the other, the taxes haven't been reduced by the slightest amount. Toss in the constant warfare from the rising warlords, with deserters running amok, killing people and seizing grain, and you have a full-blown famine. Fortunately, the Liangshan area is remote; otherwise, I'm afraid we wouldn't have escaped unscathed."
Hearing this, Qin Shujian asked a few more questions.
Zheng Fang answered them one by one.
By this point, Qin Shujian had finally gained a preliminary understanding of this world.
The land beneath his feet was the territory of the Dazhao nation.
The Dazhao nation possessed thirteen prefectures, occupying an unimaginably vast territory.
As for Linchuan Village, where Zheng Fang lived, and the current Liangshan Territory, strictly speaking, they both fell within Beiyun Prefecture, one of the thirteen prefectures of the Dazhao nation.
As for the issue of rising warlords, even without asking Zheng Fang, Qin Shujian could have guessed a thing or two.
After all, back in the ancient eras of the world he originally came from before arriving here, whenever droughts and famines struck, there were always restless individuals attempting to use the chaos to overthrow the dynasty.
"It seems no matter which world it is, there is never a shortage of such people."
Qin Shujian shook his head inwardly.
Shortly after, the two chatted in detail for a long time before Zheng Fang finally rose and took his leave.
Over the next few days, Qin Shujian organized the Body Forging Scripture he had deduced and transcribed all the content up to the eighth level of the scripture.
Immediately afterward, he passed the contents of the first eight levels of the Body Forging Scripture on to Zheng Fang.
He also imparted the first six levels of the Body Forging Scripture to Zhao Shanlin and the other chieftains.
As for the ordinary bandits, they were not taught.
This was because those who could become chieftains were at least experts at the Martial Entry Fourth Stage, and for those at the fifth stage, the Body Forging Scripture was essentially reaching its limit. Therefore, Qin Shujian chose to pass down the cultivation method layer by layer according to this standard.
In this way, it would also motivate the other bandits to desperately improve their strength in hopes of obtaining higher levels of the Body Forging Scripture.
As for Zheng Fang, upon receiving the first eight levels of the Body Forging Scripture, this old man who had spent time in a sect and could be considered widely traveled could not help his soul from trembling.
No one knew better than him just how precious a cultivation method that surpassed the shackles of the Martial Entry Fifth Stage truly was.
The reason Qin Shujian did this was to raise the overall strength of Liangshan Stronghold as much as possible.
Through his conversations with Zheng Fang and his understanding of this world, he knew all too well that relying on the strength of a single person made it difficult to establish oneself in this world.
However, Qin Shujian also kept an ace up his sleeve.
He had deduced the Body Forging Scripture all the way to the ninth level, but he only passed on the first eight levels.
Only when he deduced the tenth level, or even higher tiers, would he pass on the subsequent levels.
Doing so would prevent any unnecessary and undesirable problems from arising.
Before long, Zhang Tieniu and Wang Tiezhu also returned to report on their mission, bringing several bandits with them.
Qin Shujian immediately passed the first eight levels of the Body Forging Scripture to the two of them, while also obtaining the news he desired from their mouths.
One piece of news concerned the Chaotic Stone Forest.
Chapter 36: I Am Not a Cruel Person
Inside the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall, Qin Shujian sat at the head of the table and looked down at the two men, asking, "How did the scouting of the Chaotic Stone Forest go?"
"Outlanders are running amok in the Chaotic Stone Forest, and the situation is in complete chaos right now."
"Outlanders running amok?"
Qin Shujian narrowed his eyes.
Zhang Tieniu nodded and said, "That's right. Outlander villages have also descended into the Chaotic Stone Forest, and their numbers are no less than those of the outlanders in Novice Village No. 10021 that we wiped out previously. Moreover, these outlanders are increasing their strength at an extremely fast pace. The three bandit factions that originally occupied their own territories in the Chaotic Stone Forest have now gradually joined forces under the coercion of the outlanders to jointly resist the outlanders' incursions."
When mentioning the word "outlanders," his expression turned somewhat solemn.
Fortunately, as Liangshan Stronghold had been promoted to a Rank-One Faction, his own cultivation realm had also advanced to the Martial Entry Fourth Stage.
Otherwise, entering the Chaotic Stone Forest this time would have been a perilous venture with little hope of survival.
Hearing this, Qin Shujian was not surprised.
Judging by the speed at which players increased their strength, it was definitely something NPCs could never match.
And with the locust-like nature of players, once their strength reached a certain level, the bandit factions in the Chaotic Stone Forest would inevitably be uprooted.
Even now, the alliance of the three bandit factions already felt the threat posed by the players.
Unfortunately, judging from Zhang Tieniu's words, these bandits still understood nothing about players.
The creature known as a player was virtually impossible to stamp out completely, not to mention their terrifying growth rate.
When these bandits chose to unite in defense, they had already effectively lost.
To truly suppress the players, one had to strike with thunderous force and completely crush them while they had yet to rise.
Otherwise, sooner or later, they would turn around and bite back.
If Qin Shujian had previously still been considering whether or not to make a move on the Chaotic Stone Forest, then after hearing Zhang Tieniu's words, he no longer had the slightest hesitation.
He had to make a move!
Although the players were currently only running amok within the Chaotic Stone Forest, how far was the Chaotic Stone Forest from the Liangshan Territory?
Given the reckless exploration spirit of the players, it probably wouldn't be long before they reached into his Liangshan Territory as well.
Rather than being passively beaten then, it was better to take the initiative now.
The more he thought about it, the more Qin Shujian felt this reasoning held true.
Therefore, he immediately asked, "What is the strength of those three bandit factions? Are there any experts above the Martial Entry Sixth Stage?"
"According to my subordinates' understanding, the strongest members among the three bandit factions previously only reached the Martial Entry Fifth Stage. However, with outlanders running amok now, we cannot rule out the possibility that they have raised their realms. Still, by my estimation, the Martial Entry Sixth Stage should be the absolute limit; the likelihood of anything higher is practically negligible."
Killing outlanders granted experience and leveled you up, but the improvement wasn't limitless.
To advance beyond the Martial Entry Sixth Stage, the outlander's realm had to be no lower than the Martial Entry Third Stage.
This was undoubtedly an extremely high requirement.
"Martial Entry Sixth Stage?"
Hearing this, Qin Shujian pondered for a moment before issuing an order: "Send a letter on behalf of this stronghold master to the bandit factions in the Chaotic Stone Forest."
He considered himself not a cruel person.
Even though he had already prepared himself to make a move on the Chaotic Stone Forest, Qin Shujian still preferred not to resort to violence against these bandits unless absolutely necessary.
After all—
They were all fellow members of the greenwoods.
Now that he had become an NPC, they could all be considered members of the same kin.
Qin Shujian felt he could not easily bring himself to slaughter his own kind.
Shortly after, Qin Shujian penned three letters—one for each bandit faction—and handed them directly to Zhang Tieniu.
He believed that the bandits in the Chaotic Stone Forest would surely feel his profound sincerity upon reading these letters.
After giving these instructions, Qin Shujian immediately rallied the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold.
Those bandits only had a single day. Even though he thought the probability of these bandits refusing was low, he still needed to make preparations in advance.
Should any problems arise, he would immediately lead his men to sweep through the Chaotic Stone Forest.
On the other side.
Having received Qin Shujian's command, Zhang Tieniu rushed straight toward the Chaotic Stone Forest with the three letters.
From Liangshan to the border of the Chaotic Stone Forest was a distance of only twenty-odd miles. With the foot speed of a Martial Entry Fourth Stage martial artist, it didn't take much time.
However, the territory of the Chaotic Stone Forest was much larger than that of Liangshan, spanning two to three times the area.
Although the three bandit factions were not scattered too far apart, they were not right next to each other either.
Thus, by the time all three letters had been successfully delivered, Zhang Tieniu had spent a full three hours.
And the moment these letters were handed over to the bandits, he turned around and left immediately, not lingering for even a single second.
He hadn't read the contents of the letters.
Yet a lingering premonition made Zhang Tieniu dare not stay a moment longer.
If there was any bad news inside the letters, then with his Martial Entry Fourth Stage realm, if he got trapped in a bandit den, he might not necessarily have the chance to walk out alive.
***
Not long after Zhang Tieniu departed, furious shouts echoed from within a mountain stronghold.
"Utterly insolent!"
Niu Feng's face flushed red, his thick, powerful hand directly crushing the white sheet of paper. His copper-bell eyes were filled with rage, as if fire might spew from them at any moment.
He had naturally heard of the reputation of Liangshan Stronghold.
After all, their territories bordered each other; even if they had never had any contact, they weren't completely ignorant of one another.
In Niu Feng's view, the Liangshan Territory and the Chaotic Stone Forest had always kept to their own wells and never interfered with each other.
That was why, when a Liangshan Stronghold bandit had come to deliver the letter earlier, he had acted quite courteously and had no intention of making things difficult for the messenger.
But now—
Niu Feng only hated himself for why he hadn't detained the messenger back then and hacked him into a thousand pieces.
"I am Qin Shujian, Master of Liangshan Stronghold. Having long heard of the reputation of the various heroes in the greenwoods of the Chaotic Stone Forest, my heart is filled with admiration."
These were the opening words of the letter.
They seemed quite normal.
Yet what truly enraged Niu Feng was the content that followed.
"Hearing that outlanders are currently running amok in the Chaotic Stone Forest, Liangshan Stronghold is willing to contribute its efforts to wipe out the outlander disaster. However, as compensation, Min Gaishan must be incorporated into our Liangshan Stronghold. I give Your Excellency one day to consider. Should you refuse, Liangshan Stronghold will sweep away all obstacles."
Between the lines, Niu Feng could only perceive a strong scent of provocation.
Min Gaishan had dominated the Chaotic Stone Forest for over a decade. As the master of Min Gaishan, no one had ever dared to act so unbridled before him, let alone issue open threats.
If not for the harassment of the outlanders during this period, which made Niu Feng reluctant to disperse too much of his energy, he would have already mobilized the entire strength of his mountain to go to war directly with Liangshan Stronghold.
As for the deadline mentioned in the letter, Niu Feng didn't pay it any heed at all.
"This stronghold master wants to see what kind of skill a tiny Liangshan Stronghold possesses to dare utter such delusions about sweeping away Min Gaishan!"
Niu Feng said with an icy expression, word by word.
However, after his anger subsided, he also regained his composure.
The actions of Liangshan Stronghold might outwardly seem aimed at Min Gaishan, but amplified, they were directed at the entire Chaotic Stone Forest.
Without fully figuring out the other party's background, Niu Feng was not prepared to shoulder all the trouble by himself.
"Min Gaishan is not the only force in the Chaotic Stone Forest."
***
Chapter 37: The Next Target
Qin Shujian felt somewhat melancholic.
A full day had passed since the letters were sent out, yet he hadn't received a single reply from the bandit factions in the Chaotic Stone Forest.
Logically speaking, this shouldn't have happened.
He considered the contents of his letter to be earnest and heartfelt.
Anyone with a sense of the greater picture—whether a human or an NPC—should have agreed.
"Bandits will always be bandits. Do they truly lack a sense of the greater picture?" Qin Shujian shook his head inwardly. "I originally hoped for a win-win cooperation, but it seems there's no chance of that."
Seeing that a day had passed, he immediately left his room.
Outside, Zheng Fang and the other elite chieftains were already waiting there.
Qin Shujian said in a deep voice, "This time, the Chaotic Stone Forest refuses to state its position. Their malice toward Liangshan Stronghold is already glaringly obvious. Rather than sitting passively and taking blows, we should naturally take the initiative."
"We await the stronghold master's command in all things."
Zheng Fang was the first to express his stance.
Zhang Tieniu and Wang Tiezhu were not far behind.
Seeing this, Qin Shujian was very satisfied.
He cleared his throat and continued, "Currently, three bandit factions are entrenched in the Chaotic Stone Forest: Min Gaishan, Chuanyun Stronghold, and Luanjin Mountain. Aside from that, outlander villages have also appeared within the territory of the Chaotic Stone Forest. Therefore, this time, aside from dealing with Min Gaishan and the other bandits, we also need to handle the problem of the numerous outlanders."
At this, Qin Shujian paused. "Your primary target this time will be the outlanders. As for the other bandits, this stronghold master will pay them a visit in person."
"Stronghold master, isn't that a bit too risky?" Zheng Fang asked hesitatingly.
Though he didn't know just how strong Qin Shujian truly was, going alone to storm a hostile force carried considerable risks.
"This stronghold master knows what he is doing."
Qin Shujian remained noncommittal and waved his hand.
According to his estimation, a single bandit faction was at most slightly stronger than the Liangshan Stronghold under Wu Sheng's rule.
The Martial Entry Fifth Stage or Sixth Stage should be the absolute limit.
Of course, within their own sphere of influence, the strength of these bandits might receive a certain boost.
Yet no matter how much they were boosted, Qin Shujian did not believe the opponent could reach a level comparable to the Martial Entry Ninth Stage.
Besides, with his current strength, even if he truly couldn't defeat them, retreating safely would be absolute child's play.
Watching Zheng Fang and the others withdraw after accepting their orders, Qin Shujian couldn't help but think of the situation in the Chaotic Stone Forest.
Three bandit factions.
If nothing went wrong, each of them should possess a faction's core token.
Much like the Liangshan Stronghold Master Token dropped by Wu Sheng.
Or the core token dropped by Novice Village No. 10021.
These tokens directly represented a particular faction and served as its true core.
"The core token of a single novice village allowed Liangshan Stronghold to advance to a Rank-One Faction. If we want to advance further to Rank Two, Rank Three, or even higher tiers, we should need even more tokens."
Qin Shujian pondered to himself.
A Rank-One Liangshan Stronghold already required a minimum of the Martial Entry Third Stage.
If it were a Rank-Two Faction, perhaps even the weakest bandit would need to become an expert at the Martial Entry Fifth Stage.
The only thing that caused Qin Shujian some regret was that the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold were still far too few.
Adding everyone up from start to finish, there were only around a hundred and thirty people.
Compared to the tens of thousands of players in a single novice village, his force was still stretched desperately thin.
Moreover, goodness knew how many novice villages existed in this world.
Judging solely by his population awareness from his past life and the player ratios of some blockbuster games, the players flooding into this place probably numbered at least in the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions.
A little over a hundred bandits compared against hundreds of millions of players—Qin Shujian knew what the outcome would be even if he thought about it with his toes.
Even though all the players in the world couldn't possibly fixate solely on Liangshan Stronghold, he still felt it necessary to take precautions.
Plunder Life Sources!
Upgrade the faction rank!
Recruit more bandits!
These were the three targets Qin Shujian had set for himself, prioritized by importance.
Life Sources were undoubtedly the top priority.
Only with enough Life Sources could he become strong enough, and that was the foundation for achieving the subsequent two goals.
***
"Recently, bandits have been running amok and bringing disaster to the countryside. If the young hero is able to rid the people of this scourge, I will certainly handsomely reward you here!"
Inside Novice Village No. 23012, Liu Qinghong was conversing with the village's guard captain.
Upon seeing the system prompt, Liu Qinghong silently chose to accept the quest and then smiled faintly, saying, "Bandits plague the countryside, and as a member of Novice Village No. 23012, I naturally will not stand by and watch."
"Then I shall await the young hero's good news."
"Very well."
Liu Qinghong nodded, then bid farewell to the guard captain.
Immediately afterward, a dozen or so players swarmed over.
"Brother Liu, how is it? Did you get the quest?"
"Got it."
Liu Qinghong directly shared the quest within the party interface.
A player named Zhang Quan laughed and said, "As expected, Brother Liu is amazing. Players go talk to the guard captain every single day, yet hardly any of them manage to trigger a quest."
"The other players couldn't trigger the quest probably because their realms didn't meet the conditions."
A faint smile always lingered on Liu Qinghong's face.
However, as he looked at the quest details, his heart grew somewhat solemn.
Eliminate fifty bandits!
Every single bandit, even the most ordinary ones, possessed the strength of the Martial Entry First Stage.
If luck was bad, they might even encounter tougher opponents.
Fifty bandits was not a small number; even players at the Martial Entry Third or Fourth Stages had no confidence in completing this quest alone.
However—
The higher the difficulty of the quest, the more generous the reward upon completion.
Glancing at the sky, Liu Qinghong immediately said, "This quest is quite difficult. I'll give everyone one hour to stock up on supplies and make preparations. An hour later, we'll rendezvous directly at the village entrance."
"Alright!"
The rest of the players raised no objections to Liu Qinghong's words.
Shortly after, the dozen or so players dispersed.
Only Liu Qinghong and a slightly chubby, baby-faced young girl remained in place.
"Brother, what's the reward for this quest?"
Liu Qinghong blinked her big eyes, tilting her head with a look of curiosity.
Liu Qinghong shook his head and said, "The quest didn't specify the exact reward, but I estimate its value won't be low. We only have an hour; is there anything else you need to prepare?"
"With you here, big brother, what could I possibly need to prepare?" Liu Qinghong giggled, directly hugging Liu Qinghong's arm.
Seeing this, Liu Qinghong smiled helplessly, his eyes full of pampering.
Yet just as Liu Qinghong had said, with his current Martial Entry Fourth Stage realm, coordinated with the rest of the team, wiping out fifty bandits shouldn't pose any major problems.
Whether Liu Qinghong could contribute much didn't actually matter.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Liu Qinghong and the girl had already arrived early at the village entrance to wait.
Before long, the other players in the party arrived one after another.
Seeing that the team was fully assembled, Liu Qinghong spoke in a deep voice.
"Let's move out!"