Jacob started teaching right after Helena calmed down.

“So, this is the thing that you will use at every single moment in case we meet a Mantis realm Charybdis,” Jacob put his hands on each forehead in turn.

Forbidden Technique 64, Forced Flow

“The effect is straightforward; it makes your Meridians pump Qi and Mana faster than usual. Once you are strong enough, using this Forbidden Technique will be second nature in every fight. It’s almost not even a Forbidden Technique, to be honest. Of course, it can damage my body since I suck, but you three – and especially Juliet – should be fine with it.”

“What’s the 64? Some sort of tier?” Frederick asked.

“There are 66 Forbidden Techniques, Fred. The higher the number, the lower the tier,” Jacob explained.

“Why is it not the other way around?” Frederick noted.

“I don’t know, Fred, take it up with whoever did this? Anyway, six tiers. The first tier puts a significant strain on the body, but it’s nothing to worry about: warriors and mages alike use those techniques all the time during high-level fights. And so will you in the future.”

Jacob kept explaining. Lying would not pay off at this junction, and they had to know the risks.

“11 Forbidden Techniques form every tier. So, it goes 66-56 for the first tier, 55-45 for the second, 44-34 for the third, 33-23 for the fourth, 22-12 for the fifth, 11-1 for the sixth.”

“So, the second tier leaves you extremely exhausted, but it can be used to land a mortal blow to enemies. The third tier can cripple you if you overuse them. The weaker half of the third tier is still relatively safe for us. However, from the second half of the third tier, we incur serious risks. The fourth tier, in fact, can and will leave your body unusable for weeks after one use, months after a second.”

“What about the fifth and sixth tier, then?” Juliet asked.

“You use them, and you die, that’s it,” Jacob said laconically.

“So,” Jacob said, “we are going to be using two Forbidden Techniques, my favorites.”

He moved on to transfer them a second Forbidden Technique, the same one he had used against the Alpha Demonic Wolf.

Forbidden Technique 43, Great Realm Leap

“So, we have a first-tier and a third tier on the weaker side. The second one will have side effects and leave you weakened for a while, but it shouldn’t be a huge problem for any of you. Its effect is straightforward. You will jump a Great Realm. Helena’s cultivation will temporarily reach the Mantis realm, and Frederick’s will get one step away from it. Juliet will stand at the pinnacle of the Cockroach realm, but still a bit away from it, since she’s still in the early 8th stage of the Cockroach realm, unlike Frederick.”

“Helena, Fred, go examine the Forbidden Techniques mentally. I will explain the plan in a minute, but first, I need to speak with Juliet for a second.”

The two looked at each other and stepped away.

Juliet could feel some shyness and guilt from Jacob through the Ancestral Bond.

“You can tell me anything,” Juliet said, trying to calm his emotions.

“Juliet, what I’m going to ask right now is immoral, but it’s also necessary to win. If we had any other choice, I would not ask. Your body is the strongest, and your constitution can heal almost any wound. Therefore, the normal rules of Forbidden Techniques do not apply to you. So, if we are about to die, use this,” Jacob put his hand on her forehead and chanted a few words, “it will put you out of commission for a week or so. Maybe less. I’m not that sure. But you will heal from it. It will not impact your cultivation, but it will feel like you underwent hell. So, please do not use it in any other case than us being close to death. You hear me?”

Juliet didn’t answer at first, and Jacob almost regretted his choice. But they needed to stack all the odds in their favor.

“This is… Wow. It feels powerful from here…” Juliet commented.

“It’s one of the reasons no one had ever wanted to mess with users of the Sacred Queen Phoenix Constitution. So they can use this particular Forbidden Technique without the same side effects of other people.”

…

Jacob had given everyone five minutes to sit and focus before they would storm the place. After that, whatever was inside, they would need to hit fast.

The plan, once again, was quite simple. Helena and Frederick would be fighting the Mantis realm monster. Juliet would clean up everything else since her body had become so strong that it was impossible to wound it for any Charybdes under the 9th stage of the Cockroach realm. And even those couldn’t do much more than scratch her.

Her meteoritic growth had raised many questions in Jacob, but he put them off for now.

Jacob wasn’t sure he should have put these kids’ lives on the line: but at the same time, his choices were limited.

Which is how I imagine tyrants go on about it. ‘We didn’t have any choice.’

He shook his head and prepared some Formation he was working on. No one used Charybdis blood to do anything, but that was because they weren’t sure of how to use it. So he had borrowed some blood from Juliet and mixed it with the Charybdis one to create something that would help them fight off the monsters.