If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

The night wind carried the distinctive dusty smell of the observatory, which went straight into my nose.

Zhou Yang's groans stopped. He swayed, unable to hold back, and took half a step back, his heel hitting the edge of the stone step, causing a sharp pain.

The pain made him wince, and his carefully constructed air of superiority vanished instantly.

Qin Shuang reacted with lightning speed; before her hand even touched the hilt of the knife, she had already turned around. Looking at Zhou Yang's deathly pale face, her brows furrowed instantly, and her voice tightened: "What? Backlash?"

Zhou Yang was too tired to joke around. He waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and then plopped down on the cold stone steps.

He was panting heavily.

His chest chugged and pounded like a broken bellows. That aching, ache emanating from deep within his bones wasn't an act. Trading lifespan for that one moment of explosive power—the price was never light.

But he remained calm and composed.

I even felt like laughing.

Seeing that he was still sitting upright, Qin Shuang felt the chill that was about to freeze her subside slightly. She hesitated for a moment, then took two steps closer and stood beside him, shielding him from most of the wind.

"Can you still walk?" she asked, her tone still stiff, but her eyes never left Zhou Yang's neck—where a vein was throbbing, looking frightening.

"Take a break," Zhou Yang said hoarsely, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand. "This business is a bit too big; we need to recoup some losses."

He closed his eyes and said nothing more.

Qin Shuang didn't urge him, but silently gripped the hilt of the knife, her eyes scanning the dark night around her warily.

Zhou Yang wasn't really spacing out when he closed his eyes.

Consciousness sank into the body.

In that instant, the familiar sensation vanished. In its place came a heavy, weighty feeling, as if connected to the earth.

The unusual protrusion that had been lodged behind his spine was gone. In its place was a complete spine that emitted a faint bluish glow.

That piece of tortoise shell had actually grown together with the fragment of the dragon's spine.

No, they don't grow together entirely.

Zhou Yang's consciousness cautiously touched that spot.

He could clearly "see" that the once lifeless surface of the tortoise shell was now covered with countless fine lines. These lines, like living things, were deeply embedded in the dragon bones, and in turn, in a domineering way, they locked the dragon bones firmly to his back.

A bronze-colored light flowed between the bones.

The feeling was like he was carrying a small mountain on his back, but this mountain gave him an unprecedented sense of security.

The system panel unfolds before your eyes.

Current life expectancy: 30 years.

Looking at the number, Zhou Yang's heart still skipped a beat. Although he had expected it, the stark reality of "thirty years" still felt like a whip lashing his back.

Thirty years.

For ordinary people, it might be a lifetime.

But for him, who had to struggle in this cutthroat world and face the Heavenly Principles Sect and the unfathomable Supervisor, this short time was just the time it took to take a nap.

"We need to find a way to recover our losses quickly."

As Zhou Yang pondered this, his gaze shifted downwards and landed on the newly appeared information panel.

[Fusion complete.]

[Item Obtained: Azure Dragon Bone Armor (Unfinished)]

[Status: Completely fused with the host's spine, using this as a foundation to wield the power of the dragon bones.]

[Characteristic 1: Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Vitality. With the dragon bone entering the body, the physique's strength is increased threefold. Ordinary swords and blades are difficult to injure, and one can withstand a full-force attack from a master of the Innate Realm without dying.]

"Three times..." Zhou Yang silently did the math in his mind. Adding to his existing foundation in cultivating the Overlord Body, his current physical strength probably already exceeded that of an ordinary martial artist. This wasn't martial arts training; it was clearly turning himself into an iron plate.

This is not over yet.

The gaze continues downwards.

【Feature Two: Eye of the Formation (Beginner)】

[Note: The dragon bone is imbued with spiritual energy, and the tortoise shell forms an array. Currently, the "Eye of the Array" can be activated, allowing the user to sense and control the flow of all earth vein energy within a hundred feet of the observatory.]

[Consumes: A small amount of Dragon Bone Power.]

Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat.

The Eye of the Formation?

He had no idea what this thing was before. But in that life-or-death struggle just now, he had witnessed firsthand how the supervisor used the power of the earth's veins at the observatory to manipulate him at will.

If he could control the ley lines...

Zhou Yang couldn't resist trying to mobilize a trace of the "Dragon Bone Power" he had just obtained.

The feeling was wonderful. There was no need for hand seals or incantations, nor for manipulating a compass. He simply had a thought, and the dragon bone on his back felt slightly warm. An invisible wave instantly spread outwards from him.

hum-

There was no sound, but in Zhou Yang's mind, the world around him changed.

The once pitch-black ruins of the observatory were now filled with crisscrossing bright lines in his eyes.

Those are ley lines!

Like underground blood vessels, golden-red light surged and flowed within it. And at the center of this convergence of light was the observatory beneath his feet.

"So this is the world as seen through the eyes of a geomancer..."

Zhou Yang muttered to himself. He could sense that if he wanted, he could slightly guide these flowing forces and trigger a small earthquake, or reinforce a defensive formation.

This is not only a defensive measure, but also a divine skill for saving one's life and escaping.

If he ever encounters a deadly situation again, as long as he keeps his feet on the ground, he'll have an extra trump card.

This deal was definitely worth it.

But that wasn't what excited him the most.

As his consciousness swept through the deepest part of the dragon bone, a string of obscure text slowly emerged. It wasn't a cold, system-generated prompt; it was more like an understanding that emanated from the very core of his being.

[Host has been detected to have completed a special life form evolution.]

[Status update for "Qing Nang Xu Ming Pian": Beginner Level.]

[New effect: Plunder the world.]

[Description: Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. Since life is insufficient, then seize it. One can actively absorb the "death energy" and "evil energy" between heaven and earth, refine them through dragon bones, and slightly convert them into one's own lifespan.]

Zhou Yang suddenly opened his eyes.

Even Qin Shuang, who had been trying to remain calm, was startled by his sudden movement. She placed her hand on the hilt of her knife and looked at him warily: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Zhou Yang took a deep breath, suppressing his overwhelming joy, but he couldn't help but smile. "I just discovered that I'm pretty good at snatching things."

Stealing from one's lifespan!

This is practically cheating.

In this world filled with killing and death, deathly aura and malevolent energy are the most abundant things. Battlefields, mass graves, and even the aftershocks of battles between masters are all filled with these "poisonous substances" that ordinary people avoid at all costs.

In his case, it actually became a life-extending tonic?

Although the notification said "minor," Zhou Yang saw it as a continuous supply line. As long as he could still fight, still kill, and still venture into dangerous places, his life wouldn't be limited to those meager thirty years.

This is not some kind of evil practice; it is clearly a perpetual motion machine tailor-made for him, this "money-grubbing lay Buddhist"!

He subconsciously activated the mental cultivation method of "Qing Nang Xu Ming Pian".

The invisible, chilling aura in the surrounding air seemed to be summoned, and began to gather towards him in wisps. After passing through the dragon bone on his spine, it transformed into a warm current, slowly seeping into his limbs and bones.

Although the numbers representing the remaining lifespan change extremely slowly, almost at a snail's pace, they are indeed moving.

30 years... 30 years and 1 day... 1 and a half days...

The magnitude is pitifully small, but it represents a possibility.

A possibility of survival.

Zhou Yang exhaled a long breath of stale air. This breath carried a faint grayish-black mist, which was the impurities remaining in his body.

He felt much lighter; although the exhaustion from overexertion was still there, his energy was better than ever before.

He supported himself on his knees and stood up.

Qin Shuang looked at him. In just that short moment, his demeanor seemed to have changed again. She couldn't quite put her finger on what had changed, but she felt that his previously sharp edge had been tempered, replaced by a deeper, more unfathomable sense of weight.

It's like a freshly sharpened knife that's been casually sheathed, its sharpness hidden.

"Are you rested?" Qin Shuang asked.

"That's about enough." Zhou Yang casually brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes, but his eyes shone with an alarming light. "We should get down to business."

Qin Shuang frowned slightly: "Back to the yamen?"

Zhou Yang shook his head, raised his hand, and pointed towards Anyang City, shrouded in the night.

The area was brightly lit, and the outline of the towering city walls could be vaguely seen.

"Now that we've taken the job, we should at least collect a deposit."

A playful smile curled at the corner of his lips, a smile that revealed a hint of calculation and a touch of arrogance, as if he had just mastered a divine skill.

"Since the supervisor has given me this place, I should give him a gift in return."

Qin Shuang was somewhat puzzled: "Are you going to cause trouble?"

"Causing trouble?" Zhou Yang scoffed, turned and walked briskly down the mountain path. "Commander Qin, how can this be called causing trouble? This is called... making rational use of resources."

He walked along, making plans in his mind.

Quite a few people have died recently in Anyang City.

How much chaos did Commander Chen cause in his attempt to capture the Heavenly Principle Sect? How many wronged souls linger inside and outside the city? To him, those malevolent energies that others would avoid at all costs were just walking copper coins, or even years of lifespan.

The city is filled with a deathly atmosphere; might as well make the most of it.

Since that supervisor wants to watch a play, then let him turn the stage upside down.

"Wait for me."

Qin Shuang watched the retreating figure walking ahead, a strange emotion welling up inside her. She used to follow him because he was a shield, because he was a prisoner she had to keep an eye on.

But now, looking at that figure from behind, she suddenly felt... that as long as she followed him, she could go anywhere.

This feels dangerous.

But in this chaotic world, it seems there is no other choice.

She hurried after him, her red cloak fluttering in the night wind.

The two of them descended from the observatory, one after the other.

Zhou Yang walked slowly, adjusting to the changes in his body. With each step, he could feel the spine on his back seemingly breathing, pulsating rhythmically with each step.

With each movement, the free energy in the surrounding air passively draws towards him.

This feeling of being in control of everything was somewhat addictive to him.

"By the way," Zhou Yang suddenly spoke, his voice sounding somewhat ethereal in the night breeze, "What's been going on with Commander Chen lately?"

Qin Shuang paused for a moment, then replied, "They're still arresting people in the city. I heard they raided a hideout yesterday, and quite a few people died."

"Quite a few people died..." Zhou Yang chewed on these words, his eyes narrowing into slits. "That's good."

"Okay?" Qin Shuang asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I mean, it's been quite tough for Commander Chen," Zhou Yang nodded with an air of righteousness. "As colleagues, shouldn't we go and offer our condolences? And perhaps... help relieve some of his 'pressure'?"

Qin Shuang didn't say anything, but just silently rolled her eyes.

She knows this guy too well.

This trip will likely bring misfortune to someone in Anyang City again. As for who will be unlucky, that depends on Lord Zhou's mood, and... whether the other party has enough silver in their pocket.

The mountain road was rugged.

Zhou Yang stepped on the scattered rocks, but his mind was clear.

The system panel gradually faded from his view, leaving only a final message, like some kind of preview.

[Current Task: Stir up the muddy waters.]

[Target: Anyang City.]

He raised his head and glanced at the city in the distance, which lay dormant in the darkness like a giant beast.

There are enemies who want him dead, conspiracies yet to be uncovered, and plenty of "resources" waiting for him to harvest.

"The supervisor's deposit..."

Zhou Yang muttered to himself, his fingers gently stroking his chin, a habitual gesture he made when contemplating business.

"I'll accept it without hesitation."

As for interest.

He chuckled.

The landscape of Anyang City is about to change. Who will be the real winner then is still uncertain.

The night was darker.

The two figures quickly disappeared at the end of the mountain path, leaving only the lonely observatory behind them, still standing silently in the wind, as if nothing had happened.

But only Zhou Yang himself knew.

The moment he stepped out of that bronze gate, he was no longer that insignificant person who could only exchange his lifespan for a moment of survival.

He has a new trump card.

Now I have... the right to overturn everything on this chessboard.