“People in this world crave momentary pleasure, absorbing the vital energy of heaven and earth. While cultivating, they also wish to become Martial Fate cultivators, yet they do not realize that their innate talent has already been tainted. Years of meditation have brought you to where you are today. From now on, I will no longer interfere with your cultivation, but you must always remember one thing: never absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth. Only the purest Martial Fate cultivators can continuously open Star Gates and condense Star Souls.”

　　Ethan Carter nodded and said, “Ethan will remember.”

　　Henry Black had told him that people are all greedy, most of them absorb both the vital energy of heaven and earth and the power of the stars at the same time to speed up their cultivation. However, this will cause their innate talent to be obscured.

　　This world belongs to Martial Fate cultivators.

Chapter 9: Dragon-Subduing Fist

　　Henry Black looked at Ethan Carter and said to him again, “Release your Star Soul and let me see.”

　　Ethan Carter nodded slightly, focused his mind, and opened the Star Gate. In an instant, above his head appeared the phantom of a heavenly hammer, incomparably brilliant. Moreover, at the edge of this dazzling Star Soul, a halo of crimson gold swirled, seemingly symbolizing the nobility of this Star Soul.

　　“The Nine Heavens Star River, the Star Soul condensed by connecting to the first three heavens, carries a faint golden halo; the higher the Martial Fate star, the more terrifying the energy it contains, and the color will differ, the halo growing ever brighter. Upon reaching the middle three heavens, the color transforms, turning into crimson gold. Therefore, as soon as you release your Star Soul, others will know that you are at least connected to a Star Soul from the fourth heaven.”

　　“However, generally speaking, only the fearsome experts of the Sky Gang Realm can open four Star Gates and connect to a Star Soul from the fourth heaven. In your youth, you directly stepped into the fifth heaven. Such talent will bring you many benefits, but it will also bring misfortune. Do you understand?”

　　Henry Black spoke slowly to Ethan Carter, and Ethan Carter nodded. He naturally understood this principle. Ashley Baker's first Martial Fate star was from the third heaven, and she was already renowned throughout the Chu Kingdom. If news spread that he had connected to a Martial Fate star from the fifth heaven, many would want to recruit him, but there would likely also be those who would want his life.

　　Martial cultivation is divided into the Body Tempering Realm, the Meridian Wheel Realm, the Yuan Mansion Realm, and only then does one step into the Sky Gang Realm, becoming a Sky Gang Master.

　　The terrifying existence of the Sky Gang Realm transcends the Yuan Mansion, reaching the heavens and earth. It is said that among the billions in the entire Great Chu Kingdom, few have ever heard of a Sky Gang Realm expert. If one appears, a single person could become the law of a nation.

　　“The acupuncture technique I taught you includes a method to suppress the color of your Star Soul. Do you remember it?” Henry Black asked again.

　　“I remember.” Ethan Carter nodded.

　　“Good. Your first Star Soul comes from the fifth heaven, the Heavenly Hammer Star, which will grant you extremely strong attack and defense. Although I will no longer interfere with your future cultivation, you must still be cautious when condensing your second Star Soul. If you can restrict others’ movements to assist your attacks, that would be ideal. You can use this as a reference.”

　　“I understand.” Ethan Carter still replied respectfully.

　　“Go.” Henry Black closed his eyes. Ethan Carter withdrew and came to the edge of the training ground, where there was a bookshelf with many books on it. These were all Henry Black’s painstaking works. Ethan Carter had been reading them since childhood and had gone through them many times by now. The most numerous among them were the acupuncture techniques. Ethan Carter guessed that Henry Black’s Star Soul might be related to acupuncture.

　　These acupuncture techniques covered a wide range, including healing methods, meridian-smoothing methods, potential-stimulating methods, and so on. Now that he had become a Martial Fate cultivator, he could channel the power of the stars into the acupuncture techniques, allowing him to wield even greater power.

　　Ethan Carter took out a book, reviewed it once more, then sat cross-legged and began to insert silver needles into the acupuncture points on his head. Before long, he sensed that the color of the Star Soul power hidden within his Star Gate had faded slightly. In this way, only the color was changed, without affecting the power of the Star Soul.

　　Ethan Carter did not know that the acupuncture technique he practiced was an extremely rare secret art, one that could not be found anywhere else in the Chu Kingdom.

　　A long time later, Ethan Carter finally removed the silver needles, opened his eyes, and said softly, “Now, unless I deliberately use the power of the stars to stimulate these sealed points, the Star Soul’s original color will not appear.”

　　Then, Ethan Carter took out the Star Meteorite and sensed the star power within it. It was extremely abundant and should be a Star Meteorite from the second heaven.

　　Star Meteorites are extremely precious, being meteorites that have fallen from the Martial Fate stars of the Nine Heavens Star River. The energy of the Martial Fate stars in the sky is unimaginably vast and terrifying. Martial Fate cultivators connect with them through their will, and the power they draw is but a drop in the ocean. Therefore, even a small piece of meteorite contains terrifying energy.

　　Moreover, Star Meteorites can be used to increase the probability of connecting with a Martial Fate star. For example, if Ethan Carter uses this Star Meteorite in his hand to meditate and sense, he will more easily sense the parent Martial Fate star of this meteorite and connect with it to condense a Star Soul. Thus, many people use Star Meteorites to embark on the path of becoming Martial Fate cultivators.

　　This shows just how precious Star Meteorites are. Unless one is from a prestigious family, ordinary people could never obtain one.

　　“The vast energy contained in this Star Meteorite, combined with the dominance of the Heavenly Hammer Star, should help me break through quickly.” Ethan Carter thought to himself, then took out the Dragon-Subduing Fist manual and began to read it, feeling a chill in his heart. This Dragon-Subduing Fist was a divine ability.