Immortality begins with exchanging talent attributes.

The main prison of Qingzhou County Government, the heavy prison area.

"Angkor, a friend of mine asked me for a favor. He wants me to pass on a message. What do you think...?"

Standing at the entrance of the passageway, Zhou Yan greeted a middle-aged prison guard with a broad smile, bowing to him.

"Hey, I thought it was something serious. You mean that cell? It's just passing a message. I'll pass it on for you."

The middle-aged jailer was very polite. This man had recently become a favorite of Jailer Liu, and it would be good to make a good connection over such a small matter.

"Then thank you very much, Brother Wu."

Zhou Yan casually slipped a money pouch over and said in a low voice.

"In cell number Ding 7, Pei Yishui, just tell him, 'The plums are ripe and can be picked.' That's all."

The middle-aged jailer's smile became even more amiable when he saw the money bag.

"Don't worry, I'll go right now."

Watching the other person turn and enter the intensive care unit, Zhou Yan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yes, he finally agreed to Monkey Head's request, and the other party immediately gave him ten taels of silver, seemingly unafraid that he would renege on the debt.

The matter is quite simple; he just needs to relay the message he just said.

Although this matter seemed a bit strange, he understood it very well. To put it bluntly, the Blackwater Gang was just a small gang in Qingzhou City. Even if they had some schemes, what could they be?

It can't be a rebellion, can it?

Moreover, he didn't even deliver the message himself, so if something really happens, it has very little to do with him.

Moreover, including the five coins given to the jailer surnamed Wu, I made a net profit of nine and a half taels. Tell me, is that a profit or not?

……

Returning to the outer prison, Zhou Yan found a chair and sat down, lost in thought.

Now, the foreign debts are finally gone, and the silver in the purse has reached an astonishing figure of fifteen and a half taels.

Next, it's time to head to Qingmang Village and buy some cheap qi- and blood-tonifying herbs so that he can break through to the second level of cultivation in a short time.

I just don't know when the Black-Clad Guards will come looking for me.

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Thinking of the Black-Clad Guards, Zhou Yan's face darkened.

He really didn't want to get involved with an organization like the Black-Clad Guards, but unfortunately, once you're in the martial world, you're not in control of your own destiny.

"Ayan, who was looking for you just now?"

Zhu Asan suddenly appeared from the side, interrupting his thoughts.

"A relative of a prisoner asked me to pass on a message; it's a small matter."

Zhou Yan replied.

It wasn't that they intended to hide it, but rather that they didn't want Zhu Asan to know that he was involved with the Blackwater Gang, and thus worry about him.

"Hehe, how's it going? Not bad, huh? You've made quite a bit of money these past few days, haven't you?"

Zhu Asan chuckled to himself and said in a low voice.

"It's all thanks to you, Third Brother. Otherwise, how could someone as new as me have gotten so much?"

Zhou Yan also lowered his voice and complimented her with a smile.

"Don't even try that. Come to my house tomorrow morning, your sister-in-law made braised pork hock."

"No, Third Brother, now that I have money, I want to go to Qingmang Village to buy some more medicinal herbs."

Zhou Yan declined, feeling embarrassed.

"It's pretty chaotic outside right now, I'll go with you."

Zhu Asan said worriedly.

"No need, Third Brother. I'm already practicing. This is such a small matter, why would I need to trouble you?"

"Haha, okay! You go by yourself then."

Zhu Asan said with a smile, his face showing a look of relief that his little brother had finally grown up and no longer needed to be taken care of.

The next day, it was still dark.

The narrow alleyway of the slums was very quiet, and the earthen walls and dilapidated wooden doors on both sides of the alley were shrouded in a thin mist.

After finishing his shift, Zhou Yan parted ways with Zhu Asan and hurried home.

He walked in a hurry, wanting to get to Qingmang Village as soon as possible so that he would have time to practice martial arts after buying the medicine.

The future mission of the Black-Clad Guards was like a mountain, weighing him down so that he dared not waste a single moment.

He also wants to increase his life expectancy.

After all, the thought of only having a lifespan of a few months always gave him a sense of unease.

As for other things, they are not important to him at all now. What do he care about whether plums or apricots are ripe or not?

Just as he turned a corner.

A flash of cold light suddenly appeared from the side, silently striking straight at his neck.

too close.

It was so sudden.

Zhou Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.

In that instant, he didn't even have time to react; he simply lowered his head instinctively.

"clang!"

The long sword struck Zhou Yan squarely on the forehead, but the expected scene of his skull being split open and blood splattering everywhere did not occur. Instead, a sound of metal clashing rang out.

The air seemed to fall silent for a moment.

The cruel smile that had been on the masked man's face instantly froze.

He used almost all his strength in that strike.

He was confident that even if there was a rock in front of him, with his second-level training strength and the sharp longsword in his hand, he could cut it in two.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move the long sword in his hand even an inch further.

It seemed as if he had not chopped off a human head, but rather a piece of extremely hard iron ore.

A trickle of blood flowed down Zhou Yan's forehead, past the tip of his nose, and dripped onto the ground.

The masked man was terrified and almost instinctively wanted to draw his knife and retreat.

The next moment, Zhou Yan's right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the other's wrist holding the knife, and his body twisted violently.

Collarbone grappling technique!

A sharp pain shot through him, and the masked man instinctively dropped his longsword.

His face suddenly changed color, and he turned his left hand into a palm, slamming it down on Zhou Yan's throat.

His movements were ruthless and without the slightest hesitation, demonstrating extraordinary reaction speed.

Zhou Yan merely tilted his head slightly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, and neither flinched nor dodged, letting the other man slap his neck and shoulder.

Boom!

A muffled thud was heard.

The masked man felt as if he had struck a hollow sheet of iron, and his palm was numb from the impact.

How is that possible?

Zhou Yan gripped the other's wrist tightly with his right hand, withstood the blow, and lunged forward, grabbing the other's shirt with his left hand in a claw-like motion.

His muscles bulged, a bronze glow gradually spread across his skin, veins popped out on his neck, and he suddenly exerted force with both arms.

"you……"

The masked man's eyes were bloodshot as he tried to break free, but the other man was at least twice as strong and he was powerless to resist.

The next moment, he was lifted high into the air.

"boom!"

His body slammed heavily to the ground, and the masked man's vision went black. Blood gushed from his mouth and nose like it was free, soaking his mask.

Zhou Yan did not stop.

Take advantage of his illness to kill him.

He loosened the other person's clothes, and with his right hand, he hooked the other person's wrist upwards, locking the other person's shoulder bone with his five fingers.

The other person's eyes held a pleading look, as if they wanted to say something more.

But Zhou Yan didn't give the other person a chance to speak.

The collarbone grappling technique was applied again.

click!

The shoulder bones are misaligned.

Just as the masked man was about to scream, Zhou Yan had already pressed a knee to his chest, covered his mouth with his left hand, and grabbed his neck with his right hand, twisting it sharply.

Why?

The message clearly stated that the other party was in the early stage of the first level of training, but this external training and strength? You're telling me this is only the first level of training?

In his dying moments, the masked man had only one thought in his mind.

"Damn it, this is a total rip-off!"

Click.

His body trembled violently, and then the masked man went completely limp.

Zhou Yan skillfully snapped the other person's neck, and was slightly out of breath.

He wiped the blood from his face and looked at the corpse with a solemn expression.

He bent down and removed the black cloth covering the other person's face, revealing a slightly young face, in his twenties.

However, Zhou Yan had never seen this person before.

"Who wants to kill me? The Blackwater Gang?"

It's no wonder Zhou Yan immediately thought of the Blackwater Gang, after all, he had a grudge against them, and the Blackwater Gang was the most likely group to kill him.

But that's too much to ask. We just cooperated last night. Are you really going to send a second-level martial artist to kill me just for a few taels of silver?

Moreover, given the size of the Blackwater Gang, could they possibly have two martial arts practitioners?

Yes, although the exchange was brief.

However, based on the other party's reaction and strength, Zhou Yan was certain that the other party must be a second-level martial artist.

Moreover, if the other party hadn't been so careless, killing them wouldn't have been so easy for me.

After all, he only has high defense and great strength, and he only knows one move in martial arts, which requires close combat.

Once the distance is created, given the opponent's agility, he'll have a hard time hitting them.

Footsteps suddenly came from the alley behind them, along with the sound of people talking.

Zhou Yan paused for a moment, then, without further thought, hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder, picked up the long knife that had fallen to the side with his other hand, and strode into the alley on the other side.

The body must not be discovered, at least not so quickly.

Otherwise, anyone who wanted to kill him would have known immediately that he was still alive.

Zhou Yan pulled a small bag from the corpse, weighed it in his hand, and then threw the corpse and the long knife directly into the drainage ditch next to him.

In July, the drainage ditches in the slums were stinking and littered with garbage, and no one ever came here.

Watching the body gradually sink into the mud and garbage, Zhou Yan turned and left.

……