Closing his eyes, Ethan Carter released his astral soul, and his perception instantly reached the Fifth Heaven, connecting with his own martial fate star. In an instant, the Heavenly Hammer Star in the Fifth Heaven poured down its wild and domineering astral energy from the sky, descending upon Ethan Carter. His body was shrouded in a layer of starlight, and at this moment, Ethan Carter could clearly feel the overwhelming power of the astral energy from the Fifth Heaven.

The astral energy descending from the martial fate star in the Fifth Heaven was by no means comparable to that from the First or Second Heaven.

After a long while, when Ethan Carter's body was saturated with astral energy, he began to circulate the Thousand Hammer Tempering technique. In an instant, it was as if countless astral hammers appeared within his body, madly pounding against his flesh. Simply absorbing astral energy was not enough to temper the body; only by relying on cultivation techniques to use the absorbed astral energy to refine the body could one become stronger and achieve the effect of body refinement.

"So painful." Sweat instantly appeared on Ethan Carter's forehead, and there was a faint buzzing sound within his body. The domineering astral energy was furiously battering his flesh, and this kind of pain from body refinement was extremely hard to endure. But to forge a perfect body, he had to keep enduring it. Moreover, the more domineering the technique, the greater the pain suffered during body refinement.

"Ah..." Ethan Carter let out a low, hoarse roar, but still gritted his teeth and stubbornly endured the self-inflicted torment. The rumbling within his body grew more and more terrifying, until his astral energy was almost completely depleted. But it didn't end there. He stood up, a heavenly hammer appearing in his hand, and began to swing the astral hammer. Even while enduring boundless pain, he forced himself to persist. The Thousand Hammer Tempering meant being hammered thousands of times, constantly pushing the limits of the body.

From the Fifth Heaven, starlight poured down, falling upon Ethan Carter as he swung the giant hammer. Crackling sounds echoed in the void—his body was continuously transforming.

After hundreds of repetitions, the unique astral meridian that had formed within Ethan Carter also seemed to take the shape of a heavenly hammer. Astral energy flowed smoothly through his meridians, giving Ethan Carter a feeling of exhilaration, as if he gradually forgot his exhaustion.

"Crack!" From time to time, crisp sounds came from Ethan Carter's body, as if all his muscles and bones were trembling.

Finally, after breaking through his limits several times, he could no longer hold on. Supporting himself on the ground with one hand, he gasped for breath. This Thousand Hammer Tempering technique was simply torturous. At this moment, he felt his whole body was sore and weak, as if he was about to fall apart—utterly miserable.

"Could it be because I haven't cultivated before, my constitution is weak, and my foundation is lacking, that it's so hard?" Ethan Carter muttered softly, sitting cross-legged and no longer swinging the giant hammer. He continued to absorb astral energy, starlight pouring down endlessly, as if inexhaustible. The power of the stars was indeed limitless.

On a winter morning, the air was tinged with dampness, yet Ethan Carter in the training ground did not feel cold at all. Opening his drowsy eyes, Ethan Carter stood up and stretched his muscles and bones, feeling his body smooth and free of any soreness from the previous day. The entire night had felt like a nightmare to Ethan Carter, but now, it seemed everything had passed.

At this moment, Ethan Carter only felt clear-headed and refreshed, his whole body brimming with strength—he had never felt so powerful before.

"Such strong recovery ability—worthy of the Heavenly Hammer Star." Ethan Carter had studied some of the stars from the First to the Fifth Heaven with Black Uncle, and the Heavenly Hammer Star was among them. That was why he chose this star. The Heavenly Hammer Star had several characteristics: explosive power, strong defense and recovery, and it could also be used for forging, granting him talent in weapon crafting.

"Thousand Hammer Tempering, breaking through my limits several times, and in one night advancing from a blank slate to the third level of body refinement—this is what the astral soul and the Thousand Hammer Tempering technique have given me. Let me see how much strength I have now."

Ethan Carter walked up to a stone block, gathered his strength, and struck down. With a crisp bang, the stone block shattered into pieces, turning to rubble.

"This is power—so strong! Even a casual blow exceeds the strength of nine bulls." Ethan Carter muttered. The phrase "the strength of nine bulls and two tigers" described immense power, but for martial cultivators, reaching the third level of body refinement meant possessing the terrifying strength of nine bulls.

At the first level of body refinement, one had the strength of a bull; at the second level, the strength of four bulls; at the third level, nine bulls; at the fourth level, sixteen bulls. If one reached the ninth level, it was even more astonishing—possessing the strength of eighty-one bulls, a perfect body, and unimaginable power. This was why countless people aspired to become martial cultivators.

Power!

Becoming a martial cultivator meant possessing ultimate strength, and this was only the standard division of power for ordinary cultivators. Martial fate cultivators could further amplify their strength with astral energy, making their power at the same level even more terrifying.

Gaining strength surpassing nine bulls in a single night, how could Ethan Carter not be delighted? He walked to the center of the training ground, preparing to continue cultivating. Thousand Hammer Tempering, forging a strong body—this was actually normal for Ethan Carter. The astral energy contained in the martial fate star of the Fifth Heaven was terrifying, and combined with the self-tormenting extreme cultivation method of Thousand Hammer Tempering, it was natural to easily reshape the body and achieve a leap in strength during the initial stages of cultivation.

Now, he didn't want to waste a single moment. Staying in the Bai family was dangerous at any time. If he wanted to leave, he could only rely on his own strength. Perhaps his foster father still didn't know about his situation.