“Pain, gone in a single dream.” Ethan Carter's heart was incomparably resilient. Within his body, that terrifying vortex actually carved out a channel for astral power, spreading throughout his entire being, as if it had been completely opened up, transforming into a unique astral meridian.

At the same time, the phantom of the heavenly hammer gradually solidified. Blood seeped from the corner of Ethan Carter's mouth, and finally, he spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wah" and immediately collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious.

While Ethan Carter was unconscious, outside the Bai family residence, there was a Clear Breeze Tavern. Mark Shaw stood by the window, and above his head was the phantom of a star soul. This star soul was a pair of heavenly eyes, one of Mark Shaw's three great star souls—the Heavenly Eye Star Soul.

“Such a powerful astral beam. If Bai Qiuxue's talent is truly this strong, then she will definitely pass this assessment.” Mark Shaw saw the astral power fade away, then withdrew his star soul, thinking to himself. That astral power just now was at least from the third heaven, and in the Bai family, aside from Bai Qiuxue, it seemed there was no one else known to have communicated with the stars of the third heaven.

Stretching lazily, Mark Shaw went to rest. After hearing that Bai Qiuxue of Tianyong City had communicated with the stars of the third heaven, many powerful factions from the Chu Kingdom's imperial city had come to investigate. Among these factions was the one Mark Shaw belonged to. However, Mark Shaw was not at all worried about other factions competing with him for talent, because he came from the Emperor Star Academy.

Chapter 4: Tempered a Thousand Times

Ethan Carter woke up in the middle of the night from his daze, shook his head, and suddenly felt a tightness in his heart.

“My star soul…” Ethan Carter seemed to remember something, abruptly closed his eyes, and instantly entered a meditative state. In the next moment, a dazzling radiance lit up the room. Above Ethan Carter's head appeared the phantom of a giant hammer, incomparably brilliant, as if woven from the light of the stars.

“It worked. Since I awakened the star soul by communicating with the Heavenly Hammer Star, I'll call it the Heavenly Hammer Star Soul. Now, I need a cultivation technique that matches my star soul.” Ethan Carter muttered to himself. But just then, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he sensed starlight flickering in his mind.

“What is that?” Ethan Carter's consciousness sank into his mind. Within his mind, there was also the phantom of the Heavenly Hammer Star Soul, occupying the star gate. But at this moment, behind the phantom, there was actually a tiny astral figure floating there, releasing a faint astral power, as if locking onto the Heavenly Hammer Star Soul.

Ethan Carter's heart trembled slightly. Why would an astral figure appear in his mind?

“Could it be…” Ethan Carter seemed to suddenly recall something. Yesterday, there seemed to be an anomaly in his chest. He looked down at his chest, but only saw a string there—the stone that had been tied to it was gone.

“The stone my damned old man left me.” Ethan Carter's expression froze.

At that moment, the radiance from the astral figure seemed to be completely released onto the phantom of the Heavenly Hammer Star Soul. Points of starlight seemed to explode in Ethan Carter's mind. With a rumble, streams of memory suddenly surged into Ethan Carter's mind, causing a slight stabbing pain in his head. The astral figure's starlight dimmed, until there was no more life force, and it could no longer be sensed.

“The Thousandfold Tempering Technique—this is a memory technique! That astral figure actually contained a manual, and after sensing the presence of the star soul, the memory technique appeared!” Ethan Carter's heart pounded. The new memories in his mind were a cultivation technique: martial cultivators absorb the power of heaven and earth or astral power, tempering the body, strengthening the muscles and bones, cleansing the meridians, and connecting the internal organs. This is the first realm for martial cultivators—the Body Refinement Realm, forging a perfect body.

The Body Refinement Realm is divided into nine levels. When the body is perfected and the meridians are cleansed, one can use powerful internal energy to activate all the acupoints, connecting all the meridians throughout the body, forming a complete wheel meridian within, allowing the blood to flow unimpeded and endless power to circulate. When the wheel meridian is connected, one can unleash divine abilities with boundless power. This realm is called the Wheel Meridian Realm.

In the Body Refinement Realm, the body is forged to perfection, possessing terrifying strength, able to tear apart tigers and leopards, and split giant rocks.

In the Wheel Meridian Realm, one can unleash all kinds of divine powers, with terrifying might, capable of anything.

After that comes the incomparably powerful Yuan Mansion Realm. In this realm, vast astral power is gathered and condensed into droplets, opening up a Yuan Mansion within the body, containing terrifying energy and overwhelming strength, able to fly through the air and soar across the sky.

Martial Mandate cultivators condense star souls, allowing them to absorb astral power into their bodies. Moreover, the astral power is imbued with the attribute of the star soul. For example, if one possesses a Lion Star Soul, the power within the body during cultivation will have the ferocity of a lion, making each strike even more powerful. When using the star soul, the power is even greater. Therefore, on the Nine Heavens Continent, Martial Mandate cultivators are revered above all.

“Ordinary techniques use gravity to temper and hone the body, making the flesh suffer. But this Thousandfold Tempering Technique is even more brutal—it's practically self-torture, tempering the body a thousand times, breaking through the limits.” Ethan Carter carefully comprehended, his heart pounding. He immediately got up and went outside, arriving at the training ground in the backyard.

“Hoo…” Taking a deep breath, Ethan Carter looked up at the endless stars in the sky, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Now that his star soul had condensed, he could finally store astral power within his body and embark on the path of cultivation.