"I... I broke through?"
Nie Jiu stared blankly at his hands.
Ever since he advanced to the early stage of Great Ghost General during the Ghost Proprietor incident, his realm had been stuck as if it were cemented.
He hadn't broken through at all.
During the recent pollution source incident, he had a faint feeling of an impending breakthrough.
But even after the pollution source incident ended, he hadn't broken through.
Even that faint feeling of an impending breakthrough had vanished.
It was as if there was still a long way to go before he could break through to the mid-stage of Great Ghost General.
And just now,
He seemed to have broken through?
"I broke through just like that??"
Nie Jiu felt the ghost energy within him. It was indeed the mid-stage of Great Ghost General.
The higher one's realm, the harder it was to break through.
"But just now..."
He looked at his hands, one holding a potato, the other a knife.
He hadn't done anything special just now.
He was just peeling potatoes with a knife.
He wasn't in a battlefield, nor was he in combat training.
He wasn't even in the cultivation room converting Yin energy...
In the past, his advancements usually occurred in one of these three situations.
But peeling potatoes...
This was the first time.
Although he was happy about the breakthrough, Nie Jiu still felt a sense of unreality.
And very confused.
"Didn't they say that using ghost energy for cooking enhances precision, perception, and other abilities?"
As he was thinking, he suddenly felt something was amiss.
He turned his head.
He saw that the entire space had fallen silent.
A group of teammates stood before their respective cooking stations, all looking at him.
Their hands remained in their previous poses, their expressions blank and shocked.
*Clatter!*
Someone's potato fell to the ground.
It rolled a couple of times.
The ghost officers seemed to snap back to reality.
They spoke in a flurry of voices, "Nie Jiu, how did you break through?"
"What did you just do? Don't tell me you were secretly cultivating while pretending to cook?"
"I saw it, he was practicing earlier, waving that mourning stick around."
"I'm reporting you! You sneaky cultivator!"
Some ghost officers said this half-jokingly.
Envy and jealousy!
How could he just break through like that?
"I was really just peeling potatoes just now..."
Nie Jiu scratched his head and told the truth, "I broke through suddenly, I'm also very surprised."
The ghost officers' eyes widened: "Stop talking, you humblebragger!"
Breaking through was one thing, but saying something so infuriating!
Moreover, how could peeling potatoes lead to a breakthrough?
This wasn't a cultivation room or a combat scene.
Even if ghost energy was used, it would only be a small portion.
Envy...
Just as the ghost officers withdrew their gazes,
And distractedly prepared to continue practicing, a familiar fluctuation appeared again.
The ghost energy within their bodies began to stir once more.
The surrounding Yin energy all surged in the same direction.
They instinctively looked at Nie Jiu, could it be that he was breaking through again and again and again!?
What was going on??
However, the latter was also bewildered.
The ghost officers then realized that this breakthrough was for another ghost.
They followed the direction of the Yin energy flow.
A tall figure with a baby-faced, chubby face.
Who always loved to smile with narrowed eyes...
It was Bai Wan, of course!
At this moment, Bai Wan was preparing to take out the steamed eggplant, pour hot oil, and add seasoning.
Upon realizing he was about to break through, he quickly turned off the ghost fire on the stove.
He put down the pot lid in his hand.
He sat down on the spot, concentrating on the flow of ghost energy within him.
Time passed little by little.
The surrounding ghost officers were also too distracted to continue cooking, all watching Bai Wan.
Gradually, the ghost energy within them calmed down.
The surrounding Yin energy also stopped converging.
They realized something.
As expected.
In the next second, Bai Wan, who was sitting on the spot, opened his eyes.
As he stood up, the ghost energy around him had already been retracted.
Facing the gazes of the ghost officers, he smiled and said:
"It seems I've broken through."
The ghost officers: What kind of statement is that... (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!
Do you think you're just talking about eating an extra bowl of rice today?!
You broke through! Your cultivation broke through, brother!
"What's going on with you two!"
One could be a coincidence, but two?
Their gazes flickered between Nie Jiu and Bai Wan.
Trying to discern even the slightest clue.
But no matter how they asked, they only got one answer.
—They were just wholeheartedly cooking!
Even if they didn't want to believe it, even if they thought it was absurd.
But that was the reality.
"Damn it! This is the first time I've learned that cooking has this effect!"
"It must be that they were already close to breaking through, and cooking was just a catalyst?"
"I don't think it's as simple as you think... This should be the captain's intention!"
The ghost officers discussed amongst themselves.
Qin Mu stood before the cooking station and couldn't help but grip the cleaver in his hand.
He recalled the words of Senior Nie Jiu and Bai Wan.
While thinking, he picked up another potato.
The previous one had been ruined due to his emotional fluctuations.
Was it easy to use ghost energy for cooking?
Not at all.
Although on the surface, it was just using ghost energy for cooking.
Only a small portion of ghost energy was mobilized and needed to be controlled.
But in reality, only by doing it would one know.
This task was very taxing on mental strength.
Patience, perseverance.
Perception.
All of these were related to mental strength.
Even controlling ghost energy required mental strength.
Although they weren't using ghost energy on a large scale, throughout the entire process,
Their mental strength was repeatedly 'tempered' and changed, gradually becoming more resilient.
Whether the force was too great or too small, the speed too fast or too slow.
Patience was destroyed and rebuilt again and again...
*Ding ding ding!*
*Ding ding ding!*
Qin Mu continued his practice, but his mind was in turmoil.
Was it because ghosts were inherently spiritual bodies?
So it would affect the本体?
If the spiritual body became stronger, their strength would naturally increase?
In the human world, ghosts are formed by obsession; the deeper the obsession, the stronger the ghost.
—But with strength gained that way, their sanity might be affected, even backfiring.
And ghosts in the underworld mostly cultivate.
A method of cultivation that allows one to maintain clarity and is formal.
Cooking - Cultivation - Tempering Mental Strength?
...Is this the captain's intention?
While seemingly cooking, it's actually another special cultivation method?
Various thoughts flashed through Qin Mu's mind, leading to a conclusion.
The moment he understood, he shivered again.
Is it like this?
Or is it not?
He kept switching potatoes.
Until the basket of potatoes was empty, and he reached out to find nothing, did he snap back to reality.
He suddenly felt something and looked towards the entrance of the cooking station.
He saw the captain standing quietly there, looking at all the team members.
He didn't know how long he had been watching.
Why could the captain cut potato shreds with ghost energy like this?
Was it because his strength was too great, allowing him to easily control ghost energy?
Or was it because he learned it in the other three halls?
The Southern Hall was very skilled in the research and development of ghost energy.
The Western Hall's gourmet banquets were also very famous...
"How can I become stronger?"
Qin Mu fell into deep thought.
.........