Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1703: Growing Stronger By Teaching

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"Grrr..." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Who does he think he is?"

"Blessed by heaven or something?"

"The son of providence..."

"The brother of the sect master is obviously the most gifted, ugh..."

"I'll show him!"

The disciples grew jealous and angry, pushing themselves to train even harder. They screamed while sweating constantly, groaning in exhaustion, fist after fist. Sometimes their efforts worked and the number went up, other times it didn't, and they groaned in frustration. After failing several times, they slowed down, caught their breath, relaxed, glanced at Maria performing the technique, and began once more.

Slowly, some of them started feeling sparks within their psyches—emotions, memories—and then something deeper than their own consciousness.

Their souls.

"Ah...!"

Some began experiencing strange yet harmless epiphanies, some more bizarre than others. This was perhaps the strangest, most unorthodox martial art they had ever practiced. To wield one's grudges as a weapon was something no sect had ever attempted, as it seemed purely conceptual and ridiculous to many.

After all, in Murim, emotions were often disregarded as weakness.

But Maria was turning this "weakness" into a strength never seen before.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of—your sorrow, your fear, your grief... it's what makes you human!"

"OOOOHH!"

"Without your emotions there wouldn't be a 'you' to begin with. To reject your very sense of self is to become dull and stupid, a manipulable puppet!"

"HAAAAA!"

"Weakness? There's no weakness in accepting your own feelings and your own dark emotions. You are who you are, and there's nothing wrong with using every aspect of yourself to refine your existence!"

"YEAAAH!"

Maria had a certain charm. Despite being cruel and ruthless, she was also kind, motherly, and emotional. She resonated with these kids more than she could have imagined, and through this arduous training, a small bond began to form between her and them.

With her powerful new title as their sect master, each time she inspired them and helped them gain even the smallest enlightenment, she also gained some herself, further grasping the depths of her own technique.

The original Ghostly Fist Skill had fused with a few others, creating the complex Fusion Skill: Heavenly Nightmare Demon Venerable Abyssal Ghost Asura Battle Arts.

This could be considered the pinnacle of the Ghostly Fist, and Maria already had it at Level 18 out of 20.

However, she could hardly call herself a master. The System worked like a video game—though it required understanding, constant repetition and bonuses could boost and strengthen something. Maria loved that, but as she learned more about Murim and its martial artists, she realized how shallow she truly was as a fighter.

This skill, its level, and its techniques were shallow too, like a husk without a proper body inside, or a boneless bag of flesh without organs. Completely pointless if she didn't understand the deeper meaning behind it.

Using her System, she could force these powers to evolve, but she wasn't evolving alongside them. Her own evolutions and the skills tied to them proved she was walking a path that required her to understand, comprehend, and analyze her own growth, soul, emotions, and experiences.

That she had become a being embodying Sorrow should have already told her enough. From here on, it wasn't just the System that would help her progress. Without actual effort, she wasn't going to get anywhere. She would remain unable to surpass this wall. Forever.

And that "effort" was no longer about just killing and eating things. This was the very reason she spared souls—she realized consuming them would not help. It would only give her more superficial powers or skills, all useless to her.

This enlightenment instead...

This small speck of understanding...

It was stronger than any fighting skill she could gain right now. It was more precious than any amount of system points.

And it was elevating her to a higher "realm."

This was why having this sect was so necessary. She had realized it while fighting the White Mist Immortal.

"Instead of figuring it all out myself, like every martial art, why don't I teach it to disciples who will continue evolving it alongside me—and for me?"

Thanks to that thought, she decided to do everything she was doing now.

Eventually, more and more quests were completed.

After four hours of training, from 8 AM to 12 PM, everyone finished.

"Uhhh, I did it! Wow... this was weird," Alma said. "Anyone else have their phantom fist turn pink? I didn't really understand what Ki was, so I just used Dream Essence, and it worked..."

"That's fine too," Maria nodded. "I'll allow it. But by now you should know what Ki is, Alma. Feel it around you, inhale it. Slowly build it inside your body. It is lifeforce itself given form."

"Hm... okay!" she nodded. "Ah, I'm hungry though... Does eating restore Ki?"

"Haha, yes it does, my dear. Alright, let's have an early lunch before we depart," Maria said with a nod. "All of you make me proud. You worked hard, and you did it! How does it feel? Is the Phantasmal Fist strong?"

"It's... amazing!"

"Wow!"

"Look at that!"

The disciples punched at bone golems Maria created as dummies. Their fists shattered bones with ease, sending fragments flying. The golems attacked back too, providing a challenge to further practice their new abilities.

"You will later go hunt and use this technique exclusively," Maria said. "That'll be a task for later. For now, you all deserve a good meal."

Maria and her family began preparing a delicious lunch together with many of the sect's chefs. Maria's specialty—red meat stew with big potatoes, tomato, onion, and a bit of garlic—quickly drew everyone's attention. The food, though simple, looked delicious.

As she served everyone across dozens of tables, the disciples looked in awe, drooling at the generous portions Maria gave them. She was not stingy at all. In fact, she was a generous master, cooking for her disciples and serving them herself, almost like a mother.

"Have some bread as well. Eating rice all the time will rot your brain. You need sweet carbohydrates with all the work you do. Rice has some, but bread has more fibers."

Maria gave everyone a large piece of bread, a third of a baguette she had purchased from Azure Star and stored in her Inventory to bring here.

"Bread? I've never seen this before... it's... Hmm, not a bad taste!"

"It's spongy and crunchy, salty... and soft inside."

"Ooh, check this! You can dip it in the stew, and it absorbs all the broth like a sponge!"

"Uooooh! You're right!"

Apparently, these martial artists had never tasted bread before. Their main source of carbohydrates had always been rice.

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