Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1727: Developing A Unique Martial Arts And Cultivation Method

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"I heard that Olympus is currently led by some sort of Demigod," the Glacial Mountain Immortal explained. "H-He... I don’t know his name, but he’s a powerful war hero! Son of Ares, apparently. They have allied with the Sunlight Mountain Sect and are practically their strongest partner. I’m surprised they haven’t sent even one warrior yet... Ah, right! I heard he’s marrying someone from that sect—the daughter of the sect master."

"Huh," Maria nodded, gently patting the Immortal’s horned head. "Thank you for the information!"

"W-Will you let me go now?!" the Immortal pleaded.

"What? Of course not! We’re going to be friends forever," Maria giggled, patting his head again. "Just behave."

She was treating him like a child, and he was completely powerless to stop her.

With all the knowledge they had gathered and a plan set in motion, Maria decided to stay a little longer. It would delay her original schedule considerably, but she had heard many times that Murim possessed a strange innate Time Dilation—time flowed much faster here than in most other worlds. Weeks or even months of training here would translate to mere days elsewhere. It was the perfect place to grow stronger without losing too much time in her original world.

So she stayed for just over a week.

Despite her already impressive strength, Maria felt she needed to fully master the remaining martial arts she had gained enlightenment for. They were still little more than question marks in her mind—she understood the basic principles and concepts, but nothing more.

On the third day in Murim, she began teaching everyone the second form, even though only she and her brother had truly mastered the first. To learn the second form, they did not need complete mastery of the first; they only needed enough understanding to gain enlightenment toward the next "path."

Maria knew she still had much to learn, and teaching her disciples would accelerate the process. Their insights would flow back to her, helping her grasp everything much faster.

The third day ended with three quests barely completed. The first required practicing a karate chop a thousand times. The second involved discovering a "Sense of Self" and imbuing it into their hands. The third concluded with slashing hard black bones using that attack, releasing the "Sense of Self" from the very soul and wielding it as a powerful Soul Blade born from the heart itself.

It was complicated, but by imitating the movements and grasping the most basic principles, the disciples managed to learn the technique thanks to the quest rewards. This also granted them small enlightenments, which they complemented with their own experiences.

Maria absorbed all of that knowledge and instantly mastered the second form, learning to infuse her own essence into her hands and release it as a powerful sword forged from her soul heart.

The fourth day began with another sect attack—this time a small group from the Darkwood Sect led by a Vampire Necromancer. He was not even a Duke, so Maria had originally planned to use their own army against them. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Yet a brilliant idea occurred to her. She created a sect-wide quest: defeat as many Undead Beasts as possible using only Phantasmal Fist or Sword Soul Heart.

The battle itself granted her the enlightenment needed for the third form—an army fighting alongside her, a soul expanding her sense of self, and her heart splitting her foes.

Drawing inspiration from the Poison Sect’s Poisonous Viper Arts, the third form was born.

{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Third Form – Soul-Chasing Ghostly Viper}

It embodied part of her own nature, as she had once evolved into a snake-like ghost deeply connected to serpents.

It sounded simple, but its power was incredible. She could now condense her "sense of self" into Phantasmal Forms at will—much like when she had created multiple "Marias," but in a far simpler and more flexible way. The technique would only grow stronger as her disciples mastered it.

The viper could manifest in various sizes, but hers was massive. Her fists would chase an opponent’s soul automatically, striking with claw-like fingers that injected deadly cursed Ki as venom, causing excruciating pain and instantly weakening the target.

It was a potent and unpredictable technique, perfect for complementing her fighting style and giving her disciples a new surprise attack that no enemy could easily counter.

Once the battle ended, Maria gained even more Undead Soldiers and sent them to Necroterra. She continued evolving them by fusing powers and traits from Undead of different origins—Nightmare Beasts, Martial Beasts, Cultivators, Immortal Ghosts, Hive Insectoids, Mutants, and Parasitic Zombies—all merging constantly into something greater.

Maria sought to create the ultimate Undead Soldier, each one strong enough to rival a god.

Because that was the power she needed to destroy the Tower.

On the fifth day, there were no attacks. Maria focused entirely on teaching her disciples the Third Form while mastering it to one hundred percent comprehension and beginning to grasp the concept of the fourth.

The sixth day brought intense training. Maria organized a small martial arts tournament among her disciples with rewards for the winners. Arthur naturally took first place. She also began rewarding those who trained the hardest with Dream Hearts while continuing to refine her understanding of the fourth form.

On the seventh day, the fourth form finally emerged from Maria’s consciousness. Everyone watched in awe as her Infused Sense of Self and Soul Blade Heart converged into a perfect Sphere of Dream Ki.

Dream Ki!

It was an entirely new essence of Ki, born from the fusion of Dream Essence and traditional Ki.

Naturally, attempting to combine these two elements usually caused disastrous explosions—they were never meant to be compatible.

Wu Lieng and the others had succeeded because they already grasped the underlying concept. Maria followed their enlightenment and achieved the same breakthrough.

This Sphere of Dream Ki became the fourth form.

{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Fourth Form – Dream Soul Sphere}

Building on everything learned before, Maria taught her disciples how to embody their own Dreams within this sphere—their memories, sense of self, and experiences.

It all became a dream. Everyone had one, whether shared or individual, no matter how small.

This was why a Dream Heart was required. Those without it struggled even to comprehend the concept. Maria held another tournament to help them hone their skills and granted Dream Hearts to a hundred more disciples.

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