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"Ken, huh?" Maria touched the ice, her flas quickly lting it into vapor. The Golden Core Expert fell to the ground with a loud thud, groaning and barely breathing.
"Uuaaagh... I need... food... water... soone..." he begged weakly, like a starving beggar.
"Fufu, what an unexpected gain," Maria smiled. The young man slowly looked up, noticing her grin. "From now on you're part of the Ghostly Fist Sect! Welco!"
"W-Wha...?" Confused, Ken flinched as Maria's blazing hand touched his forehead, burning a hand-shaped mark into his skin and forcing a Soul Contract upon him. Phantasmal chains bound his soul. "Aaaaaggh! W-What...! What did you do to ?!"
As he scread in agony, Maria patted his head. The mark vanished, and she quickly opened her inventory, offering him plenty of food and water.
"F-Food... Water?! You're... giving it to ?" he asked in disbelief, eating like a starving child.
"I treat well those under my protection," Maria said. "Ken, you're now part of this sect—whether you want it or not."
"Gulp..." He swallowed nervously, then nodded, too afraid to talk back against this terrifying woman.
At the very least, she offered him delicious food he had never tasted before: potato chips, chocolate, cake, and even bubbly sweet drinks called soda. He quickly beca addicted to modern junk food.
"Alright, we're done with this. We should go to sleep for what remains of the night," Maria said with a nod. "Everyone, the rooms inside the pagoda are plenty for the entire sect, so use them as you see fit... Right, that's the Elders' job, not mine. Nice."
Maria walked inside the pagoda with her family after a long day, making their way to the top floor—a huge, spacious area with several rooms, a kitchen, three bathrooms, and a large living room with a big window overlooking the beautiful mountains.
Finally given ti to rest, Maria collapsed onto her luxurious bed. Alma and Eraldine quickly cuddled with her, followed by Partner. Lucifer stayed awake to watch over the night; he no longer needed sleep at his current power level and could ditate to rest his mind. Jonathan, not wanting to disturb the won, went to another room to sleep.
Maria had insisted it was fine if he wanted to sleep with her, that the girls would make space. Even Partner seed to trust him a little more. But Jonathan was too shy—he respected won deeply and didn't want to cause misunderstandings or make them think he was interested romantically.
"It sure was a long day, master..." Partner yawned. "I can't believe it, but I'm tired... really exhausted and even sleepy."
" too," Alma said. "A lot happened..."
"I hope there aren't too many battles later..." Eraldine sighed. "I don't want people to die if possible..."
"I know, but this is a world of battles, so you should be ready for anything," Maria said.
"I suppose..." Eraldine sighed, slowly drifting to sleep.
"Their blood was tasty..." Partner murmured, half-asleep. "I want... more blood..."
"Maria... Can I get my goodnight kiss?" Alma asked, looking too adorable for Maria to resist.
"Of course, I love you," Maria said softly. "My cute little Alma... mooch, mooch..."
"Fufu..." Alma giggled as Maria kissed her lips, then fell asleep as Maria caressed her face and hair.
As everyone slept, Maria finally checked the System notifications she had ignored earlier.
Ding!
[You and your party have slain hundreds of [Disciples of the White Mist Sect]!]
[One of your Party mbers has slain the [Third Elder of the White Mist Sect, Fang Sheng]!]
[You have slain the [White Mist Immortal, Xiu Lan]!]
[You gained a large quantity of EXP!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[...]
[Your Level has increased from Level 351 to Level 366/500!]
[All of your Stats have greatly increased.]
[You earned 15,000,000 System Points.]
[Incredible feat! You have slain an Immortal in Murim!]
[You have absorbed part of the Immortal Ki of the White Mist Immortal.]
[Your [KI] Stat has increased by 30,000,000!]
[Part of their Enlightennt and Cultivation has been transferred to yours.]
[Your Martial Arts Techniques have improved greatly.]
[Your Physique, Spirit Heart, and Divine Fla have synthesized the energies you absorbed from the White Mist Immortal.]
[Your [Divinity]: [Primordial Fla: Starless Deep & Void Death / Yin & Yang (Tier 7: Rank 2)] has Ranked Up to Tier 7: Rank 3!]
[Your [Physique]: [Abyssal Mourner of the Starless Deep Death Physique (Tier 6: Rank 9)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 10!]
[Your [Spiritual Heart]: [Abyssal Starless Void Deep Chaotic Heart (Tier 6: Rank 7)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 8!]
[All of your Stats have increased by 15,000,000!]
[You have attained a higher understanding of Martial Arts and Cultivation.]
[The Skill: [Partial Ki Absorption: Lv3] has Leveled Up to Level 10.]
[The Fusion Skill: [Heavenly Nightmare Demon Venerable Abyssal Ghost Asura Battle Arts: Lv17/20] has Leveled Up to Level 18/20.]
[The Title Skill: [Apprentice Martial Artist: Lv10] has Evolved into [Martial Arts Disciple: Lv1].]
[You learned the Skill: [White Mist Martial Arts: Lv1].]
[You learned the Skill: [Fake Martial Soul: Lv1].]
[You learned the Skill: [Fake Martial Sense: Lv1].]
[You gained the Title Skill: [Immortal Cultivator Slayer: Lv1].]
[You gained the Title Skill: [Ghostly Fist Sect Master: Lv1].]
"Amazing. With this I've gotten pretty strong from that little fight... I even attained so Enlightennt and Understanding, and gained plenty of new Skills... Although I dislike how they're called Fake! How do I even get the real deal then?!" Maria thought, frowning at the new Skills.
She inspected them more closely, finding their effects quite interesting.
First, the [White Mist Martial Arts: Lv1] was self-explanatory—it contained the martial arts of the White Mist Sect, with several techniques already pre-learned. It seed versatile, especially in how it could rge with other elents and Ki types.
Then there were her two new Skills: [Fake Martial Soul: Lv1] and [Fake Martial Sense: Lv1]. These were what she had "attained" in that fight.
The Fake Martial Soul was an embodint of a warrior's Martial Arts, Ki, Lifeforce, and even their mindset—a guardian that erged to complent and enhance their fighting stance. At least, that's what Maria thought, still figuring it out.
The second Skill was a special power Martial Artists possessed to see through battle—each technique, each stance—to understand a foe's way of fighting, find openings, and evade attacks.
A power that, although recognized as "fake" by the System, was the beginning of Maria's enlightennt.
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