Three shadows appeared beside Wan Qiao. As she waved her hand, two other experts appeared near Yan Xiaobao. They seemed confused and uncertain.
"Tell me what happened," Wan Qiao ordered. Her voice was cold, and her eyes sharp. She had personally instructed these two shadows to follow and protect Yan Xiaobao, but now the young man lay unconscious on the ground. His entire body was twisting in pain.
"He cultivated all night," one shadow knelt on the ground and spoke in a hoarse voice. "When he finished his training, he collapsed. We tried to get close to him, but the closer we got, the stronger the pull became. The more we approached him, the more pain he seemed to be in. When we left him alone, he appeared to feel better. We couldn’t leave his side to warn you." The shadow continued, his words clear and honest. Wan Qiao nodded and let out a heavy sigh after she sensed energy being drawn from herself.
"We cannot move him, but this is also a good opportunity to give him extra energy," she said with a sly smile. "Though it won’t feel pleasant for him, we can help him. Summon all the Queens in our army," Wan Qiao ordered. Her five shadows nodded before disappearing to carry out Wan Qiao’s command.
Wan Qiao sat in the room, staring at the unconscious young man. As she leaned against the wall, a smile appeared on her face. "I’m sorry," she murmured as she looked at him. "This will hurt you, but I need you to grow stronger."
Soon, there was a knock on the door, and when Wan Qiao opened it, a King-level expert walked in. It was a woman, her face filled with curiosity and uncertainty about what to expect.
"Come here," Wan Qiao said, raising her hand to bring the woman to Yan Xiaobao. As she became ensnared by the blue cloud, fear filled her eyes, but this fear quickly turned into pain as energy surged from her forehead. She collapsed to the ground. Her power continuously flowed into Yan Xiaobao. Before long, the screams of both the woman and the young man on the floor echoed in the room. After witnessing this for ten minutes, Wan Qiao pulled the woman back. She severed the blue cloud binding the woman.
As the woman was removed, she slowly began to regain her strength. When she looked at Wan Qiao, her eyes welled with questions. Seeing the discomfort and doubt in the young woman’s gaze, Wan Qiao decided to respond.
"I assume you recognize this young man," she began. The woman nodded. The day prior, she had seen this young man standing on the podium as their army’s Great Marshall. What she now witnessed left her deeply shocked. The blue cloud had visibly drained her energy, and upon being freed from it, she worried about the potential damage to her cultivation base. However, she discovered her loss was only some Yin Energy, which she could easily replenish from the surrounding world.
"Don’t worry," Wan Qiao told the woman. "Take a seat and relax until you feel better. We will need more people like you. Once you’ve recovered, you may leave." As Wan Qiao finished speaking, another knock came from the door. Another woman entered the room. Wan Qiao once again guided the woman toward the blue cloud, and just as before, her face turned pale as her energy was forcibly extracted and transferred to the unconscious, pain-stricken young man on the floor.
As before, Wan Qiao held onto the woman, severed the blue cloud, and set her down to recover. Just as the first woman was about to leave, another appeared. As more and more energy poured into Yan Xiaobao, Wan Qiao repeated the process tirelessly. Over time, his body began to emit a faint glow. The more energy he absorbed, the more agonized he appeared. Finally, after the twenty-fourth woman was brought into contact with the blue cloud, the cloud itself seemed to thicken. The density grew so profound it became touchable, yet impenetrable. It coalesced and lifted the young man off the ground, as a golden light began to radiate from his forehead. The entire room was bathed in a dazzling brilliance.
As the cloud entered his upper Dantian, the young man’s body rose higher until the last trace of energy dissipated. He then fell abruptly. But even so, the young man showed no signs of regaining consciousness, and the golden light from his body showed no intention of fading.
Wan Qiao quickly ordered all the women to leave. As they departed, every one of them carried the same thought: this Great Marshall was far different from what they had anticipated. The young man seemed to hold countless secrets they had no way of knowing. Though discomfort lingered, they were all shocked at the feat this young man had been capable of achieving.
After dismissing the women, Wan Qiao approached Yan Xiaobao’s side. This time, none of her energy was absorbed by the blue cloud. The cloud itself had utterly vanished. As Yan Xiaobao lay gently on the ground once more, the golden light slowly receded. He now looked as though he were simply sleeping. His breathing was steady, and there were no traces of pain on his body. While he seemed much better now, it was evident he was completely and utterly spent. His body had been pushed to its limits, and he would need a period of rest before awakening again.