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

Zhou Yang tried to smile, but the movement aggravated his injuries, causing him to wince in pain.

"What else could we do? We almost had to take it apart and reassemble it."

He looked down at himself; the Imperial Guard uniform he had worked so hard to obtain was now reduced to a few tattered pieces hanging on his body, barely covering his vitals. A gust of wind blew, and it felt chilly.

"This is a huge loss. The clothes are gone again."

Qin Shuang remained silent.

She took a few steps forward, her boots making a soft sound as they stepped on the gravel. From an inconspicuous leather pouch at her waist, she took out a small white jade bottle and handed it over.

"Rinse your mouth with water."

Zhou Yang took it, pulled out the stopper, and a refreshing scent filled his nostrils. He tilted his head back and took a sip; the cool liquid slid down his parched throat, suppressing the taste of blood and the churning of his internal energy. He felt a little better.

"You're so thoughtful," he said casually as he handed the bottle back to Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang didn't answer. Her gaze fell on Zhou Yang's chest, where a faint red line was faintly visible on the skin where the dragon spine fragment had been integrated, like a sleeping little snake.

"The fragments reacted," she said, her tone not questioning but stating.

The voice just fell.

Zhou Yang's body jolted violently.

A scorching warm current exploded from the spot where the fragment was in his chest, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones. It wasn't a gentle warmth, but rather like molten iron being poured into his veins, carrying a brutal and violent force.

He groaned and knelt down on one knee.

"What's going on?" he asked through gritted teeth, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Qin Shuang's eyes sharpened instantly. Instead of helping him up, she took a step back, gripped the sickle tightly, and warily looked around.

"It's the energy field of the ancient tomb stimulating it," she whispered. "Your battle just now completely activated this place."

Sure enough, as she spoke, the previously dim, blood-red runes on the surrounding stone walls lit up one after another. The red light swirled, like a giant spider web, enveloping the entire space.

hum-

A deep humming sound arose, as if coming from the depths of the earth.

Zhou Yang felt the fragments inside his body, like a heart, begin to pound violently. With each beat, an even stronger force surged through his meridians. Beneath his skin, veins bulged, like writhing earthworms.

"I can't hold on any longer..." He felt like his body was an inflated balloon, about to burst at any moment.

Just then, the blood and energy on his body seemed to be summoned by something, and frantically converged towards his chest.

That fragment, like a bottomless vortex, devoured everything.

Zhou Yang's skin began to change.

A thin, crimson line spread from his chest. It climbed up his shoulder, along his arm, and down. Where the line passed, the skin bulged slightly, then cracked, and scales the size of fingernails burst from the flesh.

The scales were crimson, with a faint golden sheen at the edges. They were arranged perfectly, covering his chest and back.

"hiss……"

Zhou Yang gasped. The feeling wasn't painful; instead, it brought a strange sense of comfort. It was as if something that had always been a part of his body had finally returned to its rightful place.

The scales continued to spread, covering his arms and legs, and finally climbing up his cheeks. At that moment, his pupils turned completely crimson gold.

An unprecedented power awakened within him.

He slowly stood up, all his previous weakness and pain gone. He felt as if he could punch through the mountain.

"Divine weapon...form." Qin Shuang looked at Zhou Yang and uttered the four words softly. In her eyes, there was shock, scrutiny, but even more so, a fervent thirst for knowledge. She quickly took out a black booklet and a specially made charcoal pencil from her bosom.

Zhou Yang ignored her.

His gaze was drawn to what was ahead.

The runes on the stone walls there shone most brightly. The rocks began to writhe and deform, and soon, two humanoid stone statues, each over three meters tall, "squeezed" out from the wall. They had no facial features; their bodies were just rough rocks, with a red, magma-like glow flowing from their joints.

They are the guardians of the ancient tomb.

The stone statues took heavy steps, each one causing the ground to tremble. They locked onto Zhou Yang and walked towards him.

Zhou Yang moved.

He didn't use any special moves; he simply raised his right hand instinctively and aimed it at the nearest stone statue.

An idea flashed through his mind.

separate.

hum!

A thin, silvery-white line, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot out from his fingertips. It was silent, it shone without light, it possessed only extreme speed and sharpness.

That thin line, like an invisible knife, easily sliced ​​through the stone statue.

There was no explosion, no loud noise.

A smooth cut runs from the shoulder to the waist of the stone statue. The cut is as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the flowing runes on the opposite stone wall.

The next second, the upper part of the statue slid off the cut, crashed to the ground, and shattered into a pile of rubble. The lower body remained standing, in a forward-leaning posture, and the red light at the joints quickly dimmed.

"Heavenly Thunder...Severance." The name of this skill naturally came to Zhou Yang's mind.

He looked at his fingers with some curiosity.

The other stone statue seemed oblivious to the death of its companion, and continued to approach with heavy steps.

Zhou Yang frowned slightly.

He clenched his fist in front of the stone statue.

This time, he wanted to try something different.

Black flames suddenly ignited on his fist. These flames were not hot, but rather carried a deathly coldness. They flickered, as if alive, emitting a soft "whooshing" sound.

"Burning Soul... Blazing Flames".

Another name came to mind.

He pushed his fist forward.

The black flames did not spread out like ordinary flames, but instead transformed into a black torrent that instantly engulfed the entire stone statue.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The statue's body did not burn or melt. It simply began to emit a silent howl amidst the black flames. The rock that made up its body began to weather and peel away at a visible rate, turning into powder that drifted into the air.

That was not physical destruction.

It's a deeper level, an erasure of the "concept".

In just three breaths, the three-meter-tall stone statue completely vanished from its spot, leaving not a speck of dust behind.

The black flames dissipated, retracting back into Zhou Yang's fist before disappearing completely.

Zhou Yang stood still, sensing the power within his body.

This force was powerful, but it was also rapidly consuming his life. He could feel his lifespan slipping away like sand in an hourglass.

The scales on the body surface begin to fade in color and gradually lose their luster.

The crimson-gold pupils slowly lost their divine light, returning to a deep black. The oppressive aura that seemed to transcend all things also subsided.

He returned to his usual self.

However, his face was even paler than before, like a crumpled sheet of white paper. The outburst just now had exhausted his energy and mental strength.

Qin Shuang stepped forward and supported his swaying body.

Her movements were steady, and her arms were very strong.

Zhou Yang leaned against her and took a breath.

"I feel... completely drained," he said weakly.

Qin Shuang didn't speak, but helped him to a relatively flat stone step and sat down. She withdrew her hand and then opened the black booklet in her hand.

The charcoal pencil made a scratching sound as it moved across the paper.

She wrote very carefully and attentively.

Zhou Yang glanced at it and saw the scale pattern he had just transformed with drawn on it, along with lines of small text next to it.

"Form name?" she asked without looking up.

Zhou Yang thought for a moment and casually said, "Blood Dragon Evil God."

Qin Shuang paused for a moment, then quickly jotted it down.

"Active skills?"

"One is called Heavenly Thunder Slash, which is like a knife and made of light. The other is called Soul-Burning Flame, which doesn't burn the body, but the thing inside." Zhou Yang tried to describe it in simple terms.

"Energy consumption level?"

"Huge," Zhou Yang answered without hesitation. "Once I drive one, I feel like I'll lose several years of my life."

Qin Shuang stopped writing.

She raised her head and looked at Zhou Yang, her gaze clear and calm.

"Stable morphology. Complete data record." She closed the booklet, her tone flat and straightforward, as if she were giving a lab report.

Then she added.

"Energy consumption is far exceeding expectations. You need to replenish your lifespan. Soon."