Chapter 1

The mountain is bald.

The grass is withered.

There are hardly any trees.

All that exists is a crude fort made of wood.

Strictly speaking, this is just a desolate hill, where even passing birds are unwilling to linger for a moment.

"Ah!"

Qin Shujian sat idly on a large rock, a large sword with several notches beside him.

Coupled with his patched clothes and the worn-out straw shoes on his feet,

he looked more like a beggar than a bandit.

But—

He is indeed a bandit.

No, to be precise, he is a mountain bandit.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Fort

Realm: First Level of Martial Arts

Cultivation Technique: First Level of the Body Tempering Classic (Total of Five Levels) (Low Rank)

Equipment: Defective Large Sword, Worn-out Shirt, Worn-out Pants, Worn-out Straw Shoes

This is Qin Shujian's current attribute panel.

When he first arrived in this world, he thought he had been reborn.

However, after a day of understanding, Qin Shujian finally realized that he had become an NPC in a game.

As for why he was so certain,

it was because there was a countdown timer constantly ticking in the lower right corner of the attribute panel.

"2 days 15 hours 23 minutes 41 seconds until player arrival."

"Ah!"

Seeing this, Qin Shujian sighed again.

The players are coming.

And his current identity, no matter how you look at it, is that of a cannon fodder NPC in a newbie village.

Existing solely to provide experience to new players.

"Killed... revived, then killed again... then revived again."

Qin Shujian suddenly thought of his previous gaming experiences.

Back then, he didn't have much feeling for those cannon fodder NPCs, but now, with the roles reversed, he could deeply feel the sorrow.

Wait!

Qin Shujian's face suddenly stiffened.

He seemed to have overlooked something.

That is—

His current body was originally an NPC, but now it has been usurped and completely replaced.

This means that whether he can be revived is an unknown.

Thinking of this, Qin Shujian suddenly shivered and jumped up from the rock.

"No... this won't do."

"If I can't be revived, I'll be at a huge loss."

"There are still more than two days left; I can't just sit here and wait to die."

Qin Shujian took a few deep breaths, looking at the countdown on the attribute panel as if it were his own death timer.

After barely getting a second chance at life, even as an NPC, it's better than completely disappearing.

"Even if I have to be an NPC, I will never be a cannon fodder NPC!"

Qin Shujian silently set a goal for himself.

To avoid being a cannon fodder NPC, he must improve his level... his strength, to escape the awkward situation.

This game does not have the level system he is familiar with.

Instead, it uses a different realm classification.

As for the Body Tempering Classic, Qin Shujian found that there indeed was such a cultivation technique in his mind.

However, it is just a basic method for training the body, requiring long-term practice, and there is no way to quickly improve in the short term.

However—

Qin Shujian had his own thoughts.

Since this is a game, it must involve killing NPCs to level up.

As for where to kill NPCs?

Qin Shujian glanced at the people moving around, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

He is currently in a nest of NPCs, so there is no need to go looking for them.

The only question is—

Since he himself is an NPC, will killing his own kind really grant him experience points or level up?

Bending down to pick up the defective large sword from the rock, Qin Shujian walked towards one of the mountain bandits dressed similarly to him.

At the same time, the attributes of that bandit appeared in his mind.

Name: Zhang Ergou

Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Fort

Realm: First Level of Martial Arts

Cultivation Technique: First Level of the Body Tempering Classic

Apart from the name, everything else was identical to Qin Shujian.

Whether it is due to the nature of the game or because the other bandits belong to the same faction,

as long as Qin Shujian wants to, he can see through the other's attributes.

Even if the attributes are not completely visible, he can still get a general idea.

When Qin Shujian approached the bandit, the other still stood there woodenly, eyes fixed on the outside, like a wooden stake, unmoving.

Qin Shujian had also tried to communicate with these people.

The result was—

Apart from himself, these bandits were no different from the cannon fodder NPCs in his memory.

They hardly communicate and have no intelligence.

They eat and rest on schedule, stand guard and patrol, as if everything is done according to a set routine.

"Brother!" Qin Shujian patted the other's shoulder.

Zhang Ergou turned to look at him, then turned back.

"Um..."

A large hand suddenly covered his mouth, and he was forcefully dragged behind a large rock.

Looking at Zhang Ergou, whose mouth and nose were covered, instinctively struggling, and whose eyes showed a hint of confusion, Qin Shujian's eyes hardened, and he immediately struck with his sword.

Despite the sword being defective, it was still extremely sharp.

With a "puh" sound, the blade pierced through the flesh, and Zhang Ergou was instantly impaled.

Blood flowed from the wound.

Then a warm current rose from the sword, surging into Qin Shujian's body.

Thud!

Qin Shujian's legs went weak, and he staggered to the ground, his chest heaving, his face pale.

He had killed someone!

He had killed someone!

Looking at the lifeless Zhang Ergou and the large sword still embedded in his chest, the bright red blood was particularly striking.

Qin Shujian did not expect killing an NPC to be so realistic.

For a moment, he almost thought he was not in a game, and that he had really killed a person.

Fortunately—

Before Qin Shujian could be too shocked, Zhang Ergou's body slowly disappeared before his eyes.

Only the defective large sword, which had lost its support, fell to the ground.

Thud!

The sound of the large sword hitting the ground brought Qin Shujian back to his senses.

Seeing this, he let out a long breath, and his pale face regained some color.

"Thank goodness... although it was too realistic, at least my guess was correct."

If he were to really kill a person, Qin Shujian would not have the courage, nor would he be able to strike so decisively without hesitation.

With his heart at ease, Qin Shujian remembered the warm current that had surged through him and immediately checked his attributes.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Ordinary Mountain Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Fort

Realm: First Level of Martial Arts

Cultivation Technique: First Level of the Body Tempering Classic (+) (Total of Five Levels) (Low Rank)

Life Source: 1

Equipment: Defective Large Sword, Worn-out Shirt, Worn-out Pants, Worn-out Straw Shoes

The attribute panel was still the same.

The difference was the addition of the Life Source attribute.

Additionally, there was a plus sign after the First Level of the Body Tempering Classic.

Seeing the plus sign, Qin Shujian's mind stirred, and he lightly tapped it with his consciousness.

The 1 point of Life Source instantly dropped to zero.

The words "First Level of the Body Tempering Classic" in the cultivation technique section twisted, and a force surged from his body, as if some subtle changes were occurring.