AGM 0004 – The Tempered Thousand-Hammer Refinement Technique

Qin Wentian regained consciousness in the middle of the night, and as he shook his head, his heart thumped in confusion.

“My Astral Soul.....” Qin Wentian mumbled, as if was trying to recall something, and he suddenly closed his eyes, entering into a meditative state. The next moment, a ray of dazzling light lit up the whole room, and on Qin Wentian’s forehead, a faint shadow in the shape of a huge hammer appeared. It was incomparably resplendent — as if it was interwoven from starlight.

“Success! To think that I’d successfully condense my Astral Soul by forming an innate link and communicating with the Heavenly Hammer Constellation. Now, I just need a set of cultivation techniques that can fully match up and complement my Heavenly Hammer Astral Soul so that I can unleash my full power.” Qin Wentian muttered to himself. After which, Qin Wentian slightly knit his eyebrows, as he discovered that there seemed to be traces of starlight hidden inside his sea of consciousness.

“What is that?” Qin Wentian delved deep within his sea of consciousness in order to investigate. In his sea of consciousness, there too, existed a faint shadow in the shape of the Heavenly Hammer Constellation, which was fully occupying his Astral Gate. As he delved even deeper in, he could sense that there seemed to be a tiny being made of Astral Energy suspended behind the faint shadow, which was constantly emitting an intangible source of Astral Energy — which seemed to be locking down the Heavenly Hammer Astral Soul.

Qin Wentian scratched his head in confusion, why would such a thing appeared in his sea of consciousness?

“Could it be....” Qin Wentian vaguely remembered some of the scenes that happened before he fainted. To confirm his guess, he hurriedly glanced at the stone which had always hung around his neck. There was only the string left — the stone had disappeared!

“Ahh, that stone was left by that damn old fogey for me.” Qin Wentian’s countenance stiffened.

(TL: the stone was left by his blood father)

At this moment, all of the light which was being radiated out from the Astral Being seemed to be released onto the top of the faint shadow of the Heavenly Hammer. The points of starlight released were saturated to the point of explosion, and then suddenly, bang! As he felt a splitting pain in his head, memory fragments begin to flow through Qin Wentian’s sea of consciousness. After this, the light from the astral being begin to dim rapidly, as it seemed to fade away totally, to the point where Qin Wentian was unable to even sense it.

“Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique. This is... A memory storage technique! That Astral Being actually contained volumes of memories in it, and after it sensed the existence of the Astral Soul, it somehow integrated with it!” Qin Wentian’s heart was beating rapidly in excitement as he deduced what had happened. Suddenly, memories began appearing in his mind — a set of cultivation technique that could use either the Yuan Qi from Heaven and Earth or the Astral Qi to temper his body, harden his bones, cleanse his meridians of impurities, and strengthen his organs! This was the first realm of a Martial Cultivator, the Body Refinement Realm, in order to allow a cultivator to have a perfect body.

There were a total of nine levels to the Body Refinement Realm. After obtaining a perfect body and undergoing impurity cleansing, one would be able to make use of their inner Yuan to stimulate the potential of the vital acupoints, providing a boost of strength. After which, all of their energy channels and meridians would be interconnected, and form a circulatory pathway, where all the blood vessels were enlarged. This way, inexhaustible strength would rotate around the newly connected pathways — through the meridians and energy channels — and generate boundless might with the aid of certain martial techniques. This realm, was the Arterial Circulation Realm.

The Body Refinement Realm – A perfect human body that could tap into the full potential of humans. Possessing herculean strength that would allow one to tear apart leopards and tigers, cleaving huge rocks in twain.

Arterial Circulation Realm – Able to generate boundless might, and gain terrifying strength. There was almost nothing that one couldn’t accomplish.

After this, was the legendary realm that possessed peerless might, the Yuanfu Realm (TL:Yuan Palace Realm, somewhat similar to Zifu Realm [Violet Palace Realm] in The Desolate Era) – In this stage, the entire Yuan Energy in one’s body would be condensed into liquid form, establishing the foundations for a Yuan Palace within one’s body. Cultivators at this stage possessed peerless, tyrannical strength, and were able to soar through the skies with ease.

For Stellar Martial Cultivators that had condensed an Astral Soul, they would naturally be able to absorb Yuan Qi from the Constellations into their own body. The Yuan Qi from the Constellations was known as Astral Yuan Qi, or Astral Qi. The Astral Qi absorbed by the Stellar Martial Cultivators would complement the Constellation with which they had formed an innate link from. For example, those who condensed their Astral Souls based on the Leo Constellation, the Astral Qi in their bodies would take on properties similar to that of their constellation. Which meant, they would have the might of a ferocious lion, and during times when they struck out, their might multiplied. By using their Astral Qi in conjunction with their Astral Soul, the might unleashed would be even stronger. This was why Stellar Martial Cultivators were the rulers of all in this world.

“Common Cultivation Techniques — tempering and refining the body through suffering and pain. But this Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique, it’s even more perverse — it’s akin to self-torture! Repeatedly undergoing the blows of a smith’s hammer, 100 times, and then 1000 times. Steel needs to be hammered repeatedly before it can be forged into a good sword. Only through constant refinement, will one be able to break through their limits and overcome themselves.” Qin Wentian ‘s heart palpitated as he gained sudden enlightenment. After which, he got up and walked outside to the training grounds located within the backyard.

“Hu...” Qin Wentian drew in a deep breath before inclining his head to look up at the boundless stars in the skies. A slight smile appeared on his face. Now that he had condensed an Astral Soul, he could finally absorb the Astral Qi from the constellations and embark on the pathway to cultivation.

Closing his eyes, Qin Wentian released his Astral Soul, as well as using his sensory abilities to feel the innate connection to the Heavenly Hammer Constellation located within the 5th Layer of Heavens. As this moment, an overbearing, extremely tyrannical Astral Qi, cascaded down onto Qin Wentian’s body, shrouding his body in a layer of starlight. Qin Wentian could clearly feel every minute fluctuation of that overbearing, extremely tyrannical Astral Qi, which originated from the 5th Heavenly Layer.

The gulf between the might of Astral Qi of Stellar Martial Cultivators who’d condensed their Astral Souls from the 5th Layer of Heavens, was incomparably wide in comparison to those from the 1st and 2nd Heavenly Layer. There was no way to compare them at all.

After a long time passed, and once Qin Wentian’s capacity for absorption was finally filled to the brim, he began executing the Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique. Instantly, numerous astral hammers coalesced within his body and started flying around and hammering frenziedly. Only absorbing the Astral Qi wouldn’t enable him to reach the desired effect of the Body Refinement Realm, the only method was to use the cultivation art he gained, in conjunction with the Astral Qi absorbed. Only than would his body become stronger, and achieve the true effects of Body Refinement.

“How painful.” Rivulets of sweat began appearing on the forehead of Qin Wentian, while grinding sounds rang out from within his body, as he endured the constant attacks from the Astral Hammers within his body. Only through enduring this excruciating pain generated by the tortuous Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique would he be able to achieve a perfect body. The more tyrannical the source of Astral Qi was, the higher the pain intensity level would be.

“Ah...” Qin Wentian involuntarily let out a low roar, but was still determined to bear the pain inflicted by the Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique. The volume of the rumbling sounds that rang out got more and more terrifying, as the Astral Qi in his body was totally exhausted. However, this wasn’t the end yet. Refusing to give up, Qin Wentian stood up on his feet as a Heavenly Hammer materialized in his hands. He began to wield the hammer in a graceful dance, while enduring the agonizing pain. This was what cultivating the Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique meant. Only by going through tens of thousands of hammer blows, would he be able to transcend his limits and gain the desired effect.

From the 5th Layer of Heavens, the starlight from the constellation shined down onto the Heavenly Hammer that was being wielded in that graceful dance by Qin Wentian.. Crackling sounds rang out as the hammer begin to undergo unceasing transformations.

After 100 repetitions, the unique set of Stellar Meridians within Qin Wentian’s body also gradually transformed into the shape of the Heavenly Hammer, while the Astral Qi circulated through the pathways of the Stellar Meridians around his whole body, smoothly without a hitch. The feeling emitted was extremely comfortable, to the point where Qin Wentian had forgotten about all the pain and tiredness that occurred from before.

A “Ka Cha!” sounded out from within Qin Wentian’s body — it was as if all his sinew, meridians, bones, and muscles were shuddering at the same moment.

And finally, after a few more rounds of breaking his limits, the ordeal was finally over. Pointing both his palms towards the ground, Qin Wentian rapidly respirated. This Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique really caused him to put his life on the line. Qin Wentian’s body now was beyond the extremities of soreness and pain, and was totally devoid of strength, as if it would disintegrate into dust at any moment.

“Could it be that because I’ve never cultivated before, that the constitution of my body is weak, and thus the foundation shallow? Maybe that’s why I’m suffering so much now.” Qin Wentian murmured, as he sat cross-leggedly on the ground, no longer wielding the huge hammer. The supply of Astral Qi seemed inexhaustible, as the starlight continuously cascaded down on him. Qin Wentian absorbed the Astral Qi, in an attempt to recover quicker.

The night passed quickly, and dawn approached. The air was filled with traces of dampness, but the Qin Wentian who was cultivating on the ground didn’t feel any hints of frigidity. Opening his eyes, Qin Wentian stood up as he moved his body about, only to feel that his movements were smooth and unhindered, without any traces of the suffering that he’d undergone yesterday.

At this moment, Qin Wentian felt fully invigorated and his body was filled with strength. He’d never once felt so strong before.

“What a strong recovery ability, indeed worthy of being the Heavenly Hammer Constellation.” Recalling the research done by his Uncle Black, the reason why he selected the Heavenly Hammer Constellation to form an innate link with was because of a few special capabilities that only the Heavenly Hammer Constellation possessed:

) Explosive Strength 2) Invulnerable Defense 3) High-speed Regeneration. Not only that, the Heavenly Hammer Constellation could also be used for the forging of weapons, granting him insights and increasing his level of talent in forging abilities.

“Using the Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique, and unceasingly transcending my limits, I used only a single night to reach the 3rd level of the Body Refinement Realm. All this was endowed to me by my Astral Soul and Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique. Now it’s time to test my actual level of strength.”

Qin Wentian walked towards a stone bench,and struck down after gathering his strength. A rumbling sound resounded out, as the stone bench was instantly shattered into dust, turning into a pile of residue on the ground.

“So this is my strength! How terrifying, a casual strike of mine already exceeds the strength level of nine bulls and two tigers.” Qin Wentian muttered to himself. The strength level of nine bulls and two tigers signified herculean strength, and to a martial cultivator, as long as they stepped into the 3rd level of the Body Refinement Realm, they too, would possess such a terrifying amount of strength.

At the first level of Body Refinement Realm, one would possess the strength of a single bull; at the second level of the Body Refinement Realm, one would possess the strength of four bulls; at the third level of the Body Refinement Realm, one would possess the strength of 9 bulls; if one managed to break through to the ninth level of the Body Refinement Realm, they would possess strength equivalent to that of 81 bulls. With a perfect body, and unimaginable terrifying amount of strength — this was the reason why countless people wanted to become a Martial Cultivator.

Strength!

After becoming a Martial Cultivator, one would be able to possess herculean strength. However, this only referred to the power division among the common Martial Cultivators. As for Stellar Martial Cultivators who used Astral Energy, the power they possessed would doubtlessly be many folds stronger that Martial Cultivators at the same level.

Inonly the span of a single night, the Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique had enabled him to possess a strength level exceeding that of nine bulls. How could Qin Wentian not be happy. Walking to the centre of the training grounds, he prepared to continue executing the Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique — to continue enduring the torturous excruciating pain in order to strengthen his body. In actuality, this was considered very normal for Qin Wentian. Stellar Martial Cultivators who condensed an Astral Soul from the 5th Heavenly Layer, were capable of absorbing Astral Qi that was extremely tyrannical in nature. With such an overbearing Astral Qi from the 5th Heavenly Layer, in addition to the Tempered Thousand Hammer Refinement Technique, at the very least, in the initial stage of cultivation, one would easily be able to refine their body and gain a massive surge in their power.

Right now, Qin Wentian didn’t wish to waste any more time. He was afraid that his foster father still didn’t know the truth of his situation. Staying in the Bai Clan was not a good solution, as there was danger lurking everywhere. He wanted to depend on his own strength and leave here as soon as possible.