Late at night.
The stench of blood rose to the heavens from the Northern Commandant Office's Imperial Prison.
Corpses were loaded onto prison carts one after another and dumped at the Mass Burial Ground.
Candlelight flickered in the corridor. Jia Huan stood quietly, watching his trusted subordinates as he warned them in a solemn voice:
"The Great Method of Absorbing Power has drawbacks. Once you use it, you can never cultivate on your own again. There is also a limit to how much inner qi you can absorb, depending on your dantian and meridians. Your combat strength will fall short of others at the same level, and every eighty-one days, you will suffer the pain of inner qi backlash for twelve hours."
"Think carefully before you decide!"
Scholar, Twin Whips, and the others answered in unison without the slightest hesitation:
"We are willing!"
They no longer wanted to be burdens to their boss, contributing one part of the effort while enjoying ten parts of the glory. Still less did they want to see him fight alone again.
Although Jiang Wuyuan had already gone to the Yellow Springs and their boss stood at the pinnacle of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, imperial power still posed dangers at every turn!
Jia Huan nodded lightly and ordered:
"Sink your qi into your dantian. Sit in quiet meditation for an hour."
His subordinates had learned the formula for the Great Method of Absorbing Power back in Northern Liang.
As for their combat strength falling short of others at the same level, there was no need to worry. Mastering a few martial techniques would fully make up for that weakness.
An hour later, everyone entered the first cell.
It held eminent Shaolin monks, two of whom were at the tenth layer of the Profound Insight Realm.