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FLUOSH!
Suddenly, a dark sphere materialized.
It was a Nightmare Soul Heart.
Maria channeled her magic to summon night, blanketing the sky in darkness and forcing the world into an artificial evening of her own making.
"I will forge my own path... I don’t need your blessings, Heaven!"
FLAAASH!
Maria aligned all ten spheres in the false night sky.
Ten stars ford a constellation—an imitation of sothing distant in the true heavens.
She moved her hands swiftly, forming hand seals that represented the constellation she had created.
If no existing Cultivation thod suited her...
She would invent her own.
"The First Star, Eyes."
"The Second Star, Ears."
"The Third Star, Nose."
"The Fourth Star, Mouth."
"The Fifth Star, Head."
"The Sixth Star, Arms."
"The Seventh Star, Torso."
"The Eighth Star, Legs."
"The Ninth Star... Heart."
"The Tenth Star... Soul."
The stars aligned into the silhouette of a woman—Maria from her past life.
But just as she was about to complete it...
ZAP!
"Ugh?!"
She coughed up black blood, and the ritual collapsed.
Daylight resud its advance. Her artificial stars exploded and vanished.
"No? That wasn’t it either?!"
Maria’s eyes widened.
Realization struck quickly. She smiled and laughed.
"Hahaha, of course... I’ve been too selfish. It’s not about praying to myself. I shouldn’t seek a blessing from my own image."
Maria stood, drew her Sword Soul Heart, and infused it into a simple bronze sword. She swung it through the air beneath the sun, practicing while laughing.
As she trained relentlessly, Sword Ki rose from her body.
Soon, nine more Dream Soul Spheres and her Dream Soul Heart appeared.
"I don’t need a Constellation... And I certainly don’t need to place myself on a pedestal. Myself? Really? What was I thinking? I’m so foolish. It was right in front of all along."
Maria’s Consciousness expanded. It wasn’t about what she had been.
It was about what she was discovering herself to be—and what she was becoming.
"My Soul is a Sword, and my Heart at the sa ti... It was there the whole ti, staring in the face."
She swung through empty space like a madwoman, dancing and laughing.
Black blood trickled from her lips as she cried.
Then...
"Hahah... Hahahaha!"
RUMBLE!
The sky split apart, turning pitch black as the void consud everything.
Darkness surged. Night returned by force.
The Heavens trembled in fury.
Heavenly Lightning crashed down toward Maria as she danced atop the rooftop of her flying pagoda, heading toward unknown lands.
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
Dozens of thunderbolts struck her.
Yet Maria continued moving, dancing with her sword.
She offered everything to her blade.
That was it.
The sword.
"I’ve dedicated myself obsessively to this blade... because it’s the only thing I can beco. A sword to cut down all my enemies, to split the heavens and carve my own path..."
Her eyes glowed bright red.
"To destroy the tower!"
She swung her sword upward. A Void Slash erupted, cleaving the sky once more.
And there it was.
{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Ninth Form – Dream Chasing Star Blade}!
The sword fell from her hands. Her ghostly fists engulfed in her own Soul and the power of the Void born from hopelessness.
She manifested a pair of blades capable of slicing through stars.
"I reject the stars. I reject heaven. I reject fate."
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Three massive slashes unleashed gigantic shockwaves of void sword ki that struck the heavens again.
White clouds began to vanish, revealing the endless void beneath.
Darkness spread. Maria’s obsessive eyes caught sothing within that void.
Each attack created a ripple—a small light.
The lights combined, forming a long, sharp object.
"A sword... my sword. It’s there."
FLASH!
Her consciousness surged outward from pure intent, trembling as it rged with the boundaries of Dream and Soul.
Her hand grasped the sky, and she tore her soul from it.
CRASH!
Like glass, the night sky shattered. The world returned to normal.
But in Maria’s hands...
Her delusions, dreams, and madness had taken solid form.
A glowing blade born from stars forged through dreams, shimring brightly with the radiance of long-forgotten mories.
The mories she had regained—those that complented her true self—had transford her soul without her realizing.
Sharpening her like a sword.
Maria had been incomplete before.
But now?
She gazed upon the true path to Ascension.
"I shall split the heavens."
Her sword rose. Darkness and stars surged.
Massive power erupted—pure Martial Arts born from her dark heart.
Nightmares fused into an aberrant legion of specters.
The stars shone brightly amid the black shadow fog.
Her Dream Chasing Star Blade was complete.
FLASH!
Within her Dantian, sothing glowed brilliantly.
A beautiful, false star.
"I can do this... No, I must!"
Her eyes filled with fascination at her discovery.
But she had no ti to marvel.
Nine Dream Soul Spheres.
One Nightmare Soul Heart.
And the Heavenly Thunder feeding her with Heavenly Ki.
RUMBLE!
Everything rotated together, constantly transforming her.
She was...
"I am Cultivating...!"
Her body refined itself. Her entire soul forged like a sword in a furnace.
But instead of fire, ghostly flas, nightmares, and stars born from dreams tempered her.
It all aligned perfectly.
A Delusional Cultivation thod was born from soone forsaken by heaven and fate.
For one destined to die thrice.
Now defying her fate at this very mont.
Until...
BOOOM!
Her Dantian exploded inward.
A shockwave of blue and black energy coursed through her body.
Nothing changed on the surface.
But Maria felt it.
"It’s complete."
She smiled, relaxing with a faint sigh.
"I need to na it. My disciples must know it by that na."
She pondered for a mont, then began writing everything in several books—Cultivation Manuals.
They continued her Martial Arts.
A unique Martial Arts that also cultivated the body.
Unique, unprecedented, unheard of.
A Martial Arts and Cultivation thod born from Despair and Sorrow.
From Madness and Grief.
And from Delusions and Dreams.
"Records of Surpassing Cultivation With The Sword Born From The Stars Within My Dreams."
Maria laughed softly.
It was a ridiculous na.
Far too long.
But she had to admit it.
She liked it.
"There are longer nas for cultivation thods out there anyway."
Maria gazed at her hand. A blade manifested.
It was both an Immortal Artifact bound to her Soul and her own Dream Weapon.
Yes.
"Every disciple will manifest sothing different, but the na will remain the sa. My Martial Arts will teach them to be sharp as a blade, no matter the weapon—be it fists or a spear."
As Maria sat contemplating her enlightennt, she quickly realized sothing.
"What Realm am I in now? This Cultivation thod is unlike any other... The Realms might be different too."
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