On the third day after the Heaven Devouring Hou blood was distributed, the atmosphere in the Heavenly Prison changed.
It had not grown tenser. It had grown heavier.
Old Yan had always been a veteran who concealed his depths. After three drops of Dragon Emperor Essence poured into his meridians, his presence became even more restrained. Walking through the corridors, he was almost impossible to sense, but the occasional trace of pressure that escaped him could make the jailers facing him go weak in the knees.
Iron Bull's change was more direct.
An extremely faint layer of gray patterns surfaced on his skin, closely resembling the markings on the Heaven Devouring Hou's scales. Whenever he stood at the Weapon Forging Hall's entrance with his hammer over his shoulder, passersby unconsciously took a detour.
After receiving two drops, Mo Qianshan shut himself inside the Alchemy Hall for half a day. When he emerged, a dark red sheen lay in the depths of his eyes, and the look he gave Qian Dagui made the man retreat three steps.
"What's wrong with his eyes?" Qian Dagui whispered, tugging on Old Yan's sleeve.
"The Hou blood activated his foundation in the Blood Baleful Art. That cultivation art of his already had something in common with beast bloodlines." Old Yan pulled his sleeve out of Qian Dagui's hand. "Stop tugging on my clothes."
Li Mingyue's change was the quietest.
She spent two full days in seclusion in a cell deep inside the Block C, Room Shen prison. When she opened the door and emerged on the third morning, her face was still pale, but the bearing she carried as she stood there was completely different.
Old Yan glanced at her, then looked again.
"Her foundation from the Demon Suppression Division wasn't built for nothing. That