The next moment, before Su Mengyao's shocked eyes, Zhou Chen's body rapidly swelled, his muscles bulging one by one. His fair palms had originally only caught Zhang Shaojiu's and the other man's blood-red fists.
But as his body kept growing, that "catch" became a "grip." As though grasping two pebbles, he closed his hands, trapping their fists firmly in his palms.
In the space of two blinks, the original Zhou Chen had vanished, replaced by a hulking, powerfully built humanoid monster covered in knotted muscles.
Countless indistinct blood-red markings covered the flowing muscular contours of his back, seemingly tracing an utterly uncanny pattern. Though still blurred, the pattern vaguely seemed poised to reveal something, waiting only for the day it took shape.
Crack... crack... crack...
The abyssally dense power of Blood Vitality around Zhou Chen condensed into streaks of red lightning in the air, and he stood at the very center of that crimson storm.
"This is..."
Su Mengyao could not help retreating a step, until her back pressed against the cliff wall behind her. Only that icy touch dragged her thoughts back to reality. Looking at Zhou Chen's current appearance, she could not help murmuring, "Junior Brother Zhou, just how much more have you been hiding from everyone..."
Su Mengyao was not the only one shocked. Beside her, Zhang Shaojiu and the man with the centipede scar on his face also had eyes full of bewilderment and shock. Even the bloody, savage emotions their transformations had stirred within them faded considerably.
The terrifying pressure emanating from Zhou Chen, like an abyss, like deep waters, bore down on them, actually bringing a trace of clarity to both their eyes.
Zhou Chen looked at Zhang Shaojiu and the man before him, then grinned. "Junior Brother Zhang-now it's my turn."
Gripping their