"This matter is already known to me. Since Elder Zheng was previously a martial arts hall master and a village school teacher, why not resume your old profession here in my Liangshan Stronghold and instruct the brothers of the stronghold?"
Qin Shuzhen changed the subject, his gaze falling upon Zheng Fang.
"If Elder Zheng is willing, I will also create the position of strategist in the stronghold. From now on, Elder Zheng will be the strategist of Liangshan Stronghold, with a status temporarily equivalent to that of a chieftain."
He had already entertained this thought from the very beginning.
Now that he saw Zheng Fang in person, he formally made the offer.
After all, every single bandit in Liangshan Stronghold only practiced a single cultivation method, the Body Forging Scripture, making their strength far too uniform.
Zheng Fang clearly possessed other martial arts manuals in his possession. If he taught them to the other bandits, it would indirectly enhance their strength as well.
Furthermore, in Qin Shuzhen's view, learning a little more and knowing a few characters could only be a good thing.
Although he did not expect the average intelligence of the ordinary Liangshan bandits to enable them to grasp much, there were no adverse effects to it either.
What Qin Shuzhen truly wanted to cultivate were normal bandits akin to Wang Tiezhu and Zhang Tieniu.
With a stronghold as vast as Liangshan, it would be far too exhausting if he had to personally attend to every single matter.
Properly cultivating some talented individuals was also for the sake of future plans.
Faced with Qin Shuzhen's proposal, Zheng Fang did not refuse. Instead, he stood up and said with a look of gratitude, "This old man will completely obey the Stronghold Master's arrangements!"
"You may all withdraw for now. I need some time to myself."
Having made a brief announcement, Qin Shuzhen dismissed them directly.
At his words, Zheng Fang and the others all stood up and took their leave.
In the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall, Qin Shuzhen was left entirely by himself in the blink of an eye.
He held a deep appreciation for Zheng Fang.
Regardless of the man's background, realm, or strength, he was second only to Qin Shuzhen himself within Liangshan Stronghold; such talent naturally should not be allowed to go to waste.
It was simply that Zheng Fang had joined Liangshan Stronghold only a short time ago, so Qin Shuzhen found it inconvenient to bestow overly heavy authority upon him right away.
As for the position of strategist, when he said it was equivalent to a chieftain, it was indeed equivalent to a chieftain.
As for placing it above the chieftains, that would merely take a single word from him.
Before Qin Shuzhen succeeded as the Liangshan Stronghold Master, the stronghold only possessed two ranks: Stronghold Master and chieftain.
For now, Qin Shuzhen had no intention of making sweeping changes.
One step at a time, eating a meal one mouthful at a time—he would first resolve the issue with the players before slowly dealing with everything else.
With this thought, Qin Shuzhen began to check his gains for the day.
Name: Qin Shuzhen
Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Master
Affiliated Faction: Liangshan Stronghold
Realm: Martial Entry Sixth Stage (Within the sphere of influence of Liangshan Stronghold, Realm +1)
Cultivation Methods: Body Forging Scripture (Completion) (+) (Force Follows Will) (Mortal Grade Low-Tier), Black Tiger Saber Technique (Peak of Perfection) (+) (Mortal Grade Mid-Tier)
Life Source: 267
Equipment: Ninth-Grade Sharp Weapon Tiger-Head Saber, Ninth-Grade Armor Tiger-Skin Suit (Tiger-Skin Coat, Tiger-Skin Trousers, Tiger-Skin Belt, Tiger-Skin Thick Boots)
His Life Source had surged directly from 22 points all the way to 267 points, an increase of over two hundred points.
The sheer scale of this leap caused even Qin Shuzhen to draw in a sharp breath.
For the very first time, he realized that players could actually contribute such a massive amount of Life Source.
And this was merely the harvest gathered over the course of the better part of a single day.
Shortly thereafter, Qin Shuzhen discovered a bewildering fact: right after the Body Forging Scripture, which should have reached completion, a plus sign had unexpectedly appeared once more.
***
The white light dissipated, revealing Cao Hong's blackened countenance.
Recalling how he had just been hacked to death by a flurry of blades, he gnashed his teeth in intense fury.
Involuntarily, he checked his own attributes.
At that single glance, Cao Hong's expression grew even more unsightly.
"What the hell!"
No matter how good his composure usually was, he could not help cursing at this moment.
In terms of realm, the glaring display of Martial Entry Stage Zero was exceptionally blinding.
Die once, drop a realm.
A loss of this magnitude made Cao Hong feel a pang of heartache for the very first time.
Yet before his anger could linger for long, he saw streams of white light successively flashing into existence around him.
"Damn it, those accursed Liangshan bandits!"
"Screw your ancestors!"
His ears were filled with all manner of cursing from various players.
"I spent all day chasing chickens and ducks, and just as I was finally on the verge of advancing to the Martial Entry First Stage, they reset me straight back to zero! I am done playing this trash game!"
One player wore an expression of profound grief and indignation.
Hearing this, the other players cast sympathetic looks in his direction.
At that moment, Cao Hong also caught sight of the lingering system notification.
"You have been killed by a Liangshan Stronghold bandit!"
Liangshan Stronghold!
Bandits!
Combining this with what the other players were saying, Cao Hong instantly understood.
It turned out he was not the only one who had been killed; the other players had all met the exact same fate.
"It seems everyone was killed by the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold. We absolutely cannot let this matter rest. Since when do NPCs get to ride roughshod over us players? Let's all form groups together and slaughter every single one of those Liangshan bandits!"
Immediately, a player put forward a proposal.
These words instantly sparked resonance among the remaining players.
Whosoever this misfortune befell, it was bound to be infuriating.
The experience points they had accumulated through arduous toil and sweat were completely wiped out upon a single resurrection, rendering a day or two of hard work entirely in vain. No player could accept such a thing.
Even Cao Hong harbored a pent-up fury within his chest.
Yet just as he prepared to retrieve his weapon, he discovered yet another exasperating reality.
His weapon—
had dropped.
To put it simply, he had been looted by an NPC.
"A gentleman never fails to exact vengeance for a grievance; just you wait!" Cao Hong gritted his teeth.
Watching as players had already begun forming groups one after another and heading outside the village, he directly followed suit.
Players possessed the ability to resurrect, and that was their greatest advantage.
Even after making contact with those Liangshan bandits and realizing that the enemy's realm might surpass their own, they still had the advantage in sheer numbers.
Cao Hong believed that relying on the numerical strength of the players, they could grind those bandits to death through sheer attrition alone.
***
On the other side.
Qin Shuzhen looked at the steadily rising Life Source value, a gratified smile blooming across his face.
He could not deal with the Novice Village directly for the time being.
However, that did not mean he lacked ways to suppress the players' growth.
At present, the vast majority of players had not even stepped foot into the Martial Entry First Stage; compared to the Liangshan Stronghold bandits, their strength was significantly inferior.
Coupled with the fact that these bandits, though lacking in high intelligence, were nonetheless seasoned fighters tempered by bloodshed, they still held a distinct advantage over those rookie players.
Furthermore, given the bandits' ability to resurrect, Qin Shuzhen had no fear whatsoever of his forces being depleted.
Finally, coinciding with the recent addition of Zheng Fang and his group, Liangshan Stronghold's overall strength had drastically increased.
Thus, Qin Shuzhen decisively dispatched the vast majority of his bandits to indirectly encircle Novice Village No. 10021, wiping out every single player they encountered.
"I refuse to believe that if I keep these players completely restricted within the Novice Village, they can still manage to accomplish anything significant."
A cold smile hooked the corners of Qin Shuzhen's lips.
The formidable aspect of players lay in their ability to slay monsters to level up, as well as their uninterrupted capacity for resurrection.
However—
If the option to grind monsters for levels was stripped away, leaving behind nothing but an endless cycle of resurrections, they would essentially become a non-stop cash machine.
His current path was precisely to treat monster-grinding as his goal.
The only difference was:
He was treating the players as monsters to be farmed.
"Liangshan Stronghold bandit Sun Xiaoer has been promoted to the Martial Entry Second Stage due to slaying too many Outlanders!"
Abruptly, a system notification caused Qin Shuzhen to pause in astonishment.
In the next instant, a surge of elation washed over him.
"Leveling up! Other bandits can also level up by killing players!"
Such a discovery genuinely shocked Qin Shuzhen, while filling him with pleasant surprise.
He had always assumed that if the other bandits wanted to enhance their strength, they could only do so through step-by-step, conventional cultivation.
Yet now, the situation was completely different.
The other bandits could also level up by killing players!
This signified that the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold possessed the potential for rapid growth.
Previously, Qin Shuzhen had harbored a lingering concern: his own strength was advancing far too quickly, while the bandits of Liangshan Stronghold were failing to keep pace with his progress.
But now, that worry had completely vanished.
If they could level up by farming players, that was more than enough.
Qin Shuzhen rubbed his chin, murmuring softly, "Originally, I intended to quickly elevate my strength and then launch a direct assault to breach Novice Village No. 10021, completely eradicating the player threat here. But now that the Liangshan Stronghold bandits can level up by farming players, there's no need to rush the breach."
Keeping them alive for continuous farming was far better than making a single haul and ending it there.
Naturally, as some bandits leveled up, others inevitably met their demise.
As the master of Liangshan Stronghold, Qin Shuzhen held absolute command over every movement of his bandits.
Whether someone advanced in realm or perished, he would receive prompt notifications from the system.
Bandits killed by players required three days to respawn.
As long as Liangshan Stronghold was not breached, these bandits could respawn continuously. However, should Liangshan Stronghold fall, these bandits would cease to respawn entirely.
"Liangshan Stronghold bandit Tiedan has been promoted to the Martial Entry Second Stage due to slaying too many Outlanders!"
"Liangshan Stronghold bandit Wu Goudan has died!"
"Liangshan Stronghold bandit..."
System notifications popped up intermittently, bearing testament to the fierce combat between the bandits and the players.
At this moment—
Several players were approaching from the distance.
Qin Shuzhen happened to spot them, and they likewise caught sight of Qin Shuzhen.
For a brief second, both sides involuntarily locked eyes.
Yet merely two seconds later, one of the players shrieked at the top of his lungs, "It's the Liangshan Stronghold Master! Run!"
The remaining players reacted instantly as well.
A day prior at the entrance of the Novice Village, when Qin Shuzhen had engaged in battle with several high-level NPC experts from the village, they had all belonged to the crowd of onlookers.
They possessed a rough understanding of Qin Shuzhen's might.
Namely, he was someone they could absolutely never hope to contend with.
True, players were capable of resurrection, but nobody willingly wished to endure the agony of death for no reason—especially such a meaningless demise.
Therefore, the moment they saw Qin Shuzhen, these individuals spun around and fled.
Want to leave?
Qin Shuzhen tapped his toes lightly against the ground, his body instantly shooting forward like an arrow released from a taut bow.
With a single mid-air kick, the air itself emitted a sharp sonic boom.
The player trailing at the very rear did not even have time to glance back before he was struck squarely in the back by the kick, dissolving into a stream of white light that vanished into thin air.
The thunderous impact compelled the other players to instinctively look back.
Just in time, they witnessed the scene of Qin Shuzhen kicking a player to death, sending their souls flying in sheer terror.
"Damn it!"
***
Novice Village No. 10021.
At present, the vast majority of players were gathered right here.
A massive assembly of players had packed this diminutive village almost to the bursting point.
"What the hell? Do those bandits have holes in their brains? If this keeps up, the players of our Novice Village No. 10021 are going to end up at the very bottom compared to every other novice village!"
Inside a temporarily constructed council room, Cao Hong roared in exasperation and fury.
He was truly driven mad by anger now.
In the span of less than three full days, he had been slain by the bandits seven or eight times, his realm progress permanently locked at Martial Entry Stage Zero.
Cao Hong simply could not wrap his head around where things had gone wrong.
Those bandits were like clinging ghosts; the moment he stepped even a short distance outside the boundaries of the Novice Village, he would be ambushed and surrounded.
With his Martial Entry Stage Zero strength, he wasn't even a match for a solitary, isolated bandit.
The other players present also wore exceptionally gloomy expressions.
"Right now, the players of our Novice Village No. 10021 are basically restricted to an area within two miles of the village. With our massive player base compressed into such a tiny space, the resources simply aren't enough to go around."
Lu Shoujia, standing to one side, also spoke in a deep voice.
The respawn of wild monsters operated on a time interval as well.
Novice Village No. 10021 housed several thousand players; in such a small area with so few resources, there weren't even enough monsters for each person to get one.
"And moreover..."
At this point, Lu Shoujia shifted the topic.
"I wonder if you've noticed, but over these past few days, the strength of certain bandits seems to have grown even greater. Could this mean that these NPCs can also level up by killing us players?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the complexions of the other players shifted drastically.
Had Lu Shoujia not pointed it out, they might not necessarily have noticed this detail.
The bandits were already troublesome enough as it was.
Mere hundreds of bandits had pinned down their massive numbers, leaving them unable to take a single step forward.
If the bandits could genuinely level up by killing players, and things were allowed to continue this way, they would end up permanently imprisoned within the Novice Village.
A burly, rough-looking player spoke up in a deep voice at that moment, "Even if those bandits can level up, what can we do? Everyone present here is well aware of that Liangshan Stronghold Master's strength. A charge launched by over a thousand of our players was completely wiped out by him single-handedly. If we don't eliminate the Liangshan Stronghold Master, even if we manage to deal with the rest of the bandits, it will be impossible to truly shake off this crisis."
Given the fearlessness of death inherent to players, they naturally refused to resign themselves to being hunted down in encirclements.
Therefore, organized by several influential players, over a thousand players had indeed joined forces at one point in an attempt to shatter the encirclement of the Liangshan Stronghold bandits.
Unfortunately, before they could truly unleash their power, they ran straight into Stronghold Master Qin Shuzhen.
As for the outcome.
It went without saying.
That single encirclement battle was precisely what completely shattered the morale and fighting spirit of the numerous players.
"Given our current predicament, if we want to resolve this bandit calamity, there are only two methods!"
Someone spoke up.
Hearing this, the rest turned their gazes toward the speaker, the expressions of quite a few growing solemn.
For no other reason.
Simply because the person before them was named Wang Renbin.
The Wang Family was a renowned and illustrious influential clan in the real world; their industries not only spanned the entire nation, but they also wielded tremendous power within political circles.
The opening of this gaming world this time around had drawn countless factions rushing to carve out a piece.
The Wang Family was one of them. Thus, when Wang Renbin spoke, the others maintained their silence.
When it came to status and standing, there were hardly a handful of people here who could compare to Wang Renbin.
Seeing the scene quiet down, a faint smile appeared on Wang Renbin's handsome face: "Although the bandits are besieging us players, they have not driven us to a dead end after all. Although the monster resources within the two-mile radius, when spread evenly across all players, can only be considered a drop in the bucket, if we concentrate these resources onto a select few players, I believe we can rapidly cultivate a few high-level players. The reason the bandits are formidable is primarily due to the Liangshan Stronghold Master. As long as we cultivate players capable of contending with the Liangshan Stronghold Master, the bandit calamity will naturally be resolved effortlessly."
Upon hearing this, many present wore slight shifts in their expressions.
They had to admit that the method proposed by Wang Renbin was indeed a viable solution.
After all, when it came to the speed of leveling up and fighting monsters, they did not believe NPCs could surpass players.
However—
"Young Master Wang's calculation is quite clever indeed. Were you going to suggest next that the players selected for cultivation should all be chosen from the Wang Family?"
A seductive voice rang out, faintly carrying a hint of mockery.
Wang Renbin traced the sound, his eyes landing upon a graceful and charming female player.
Her skin was as fair and flawless as snow, dark hair cascaded down, bright and expressive eyes were captivating like pearls, and her crimson cherry lips curved slightly into a breathtaking smile.
"Xiaomeng, you misunderstand me. Since we're selecting a few players for cultivation, we should naturally choose them based on their potential." Wang Renbin did not display the slightest sign of anger, saying with a smile.
"Young Master Wang should still call me by my full name; the name Xiaomeng isn't something just anyone can use."
Zhao Xiaomeng seemed disinclined to show any appreciation.
While others might hold apprehensions toward the Wang Family, she had no need for such sentiments.
Powerful though the Wang Family was, the Zhao Family to which she belonged was not much weaker.
"And don't forget, pouring all our efforts into cultivating a few players will drag down the level progress of everyone else by a massive margin. Even if we solve the bandit problem, we'll still lag far behind the players in other novice villages. In the early stages of a game, falling behind by a single step means falling behind at every step. Young Master Wang couldn't possibly have entered this place purely for sightseeing, could you?"
Hearing this, Wang Renbin's smile faded: "In that case, then only the other method remains."
As he spoke, his expression turned solemn.
"Someone in my Wang Family obtained a teleportation talisman elsewhere; we only need to know the coordinate positioning to carry out personnel teleportation. As far as I know, aside from our location, there are quite a few players in other novice villages whose levels have been raised to the Martial Entry Second Stage, and the highest-level players have even reached the Martial Entry Fourth Stage. If we teleport those players over here, then the bandit calamity will no longer be an issue."
"Only..."
Wang Renbin paused for a moment before continuing, "This kind of teleportation talisman is a one-time consumable, and once the teleportation time expires, all participating players will be forcibly teleported back. My Wang Family expended enormous manpower and material resources to acquire this treasure. The bandit calamity isn't solely my personal affair either, so if you all wish to resolve this problem, there's no reason to expect my Wang Family to bear this loss entirely on our own."
The moment these words left his mouth, even Zhao Xiaomeng's expression shifted slightly.
She had not anticipated that the Wang Family could manage to obtain such a treasure during the early stages of the game.
The other players also wore varied expressions.
Wang Renbin's words had been made abundantly clear: he wanted all of them to share the cost of this teleportation talisman.
One of the players immediately asked, "Then according to Young Master Wang, what price must we pay?"
"I know that the people sitting here are basically the leaders or representatives of the various player factions in Novice Village No. 10021." Wang Renbin swept his gaze around the circle before finally extending a single finger: "One million. Out of the factions represented by everyone here, each faction must pay one million to my Wang Family, and then this matter will be handed over to my Wang Family to resolve."