Chapter 4 Body Sculpting Technique

Ethan Lowe bent down to dodge, awkwardly retreating more than ten meters. The factory behind him was reduced to rubble.
The young man soared into the sky, coldly looking down at Ethan with arrogant eyes. "Are you a native of this planet?"
Ethan's expression grew serious. A Heaven-level powerhouse!
"I'm talking to you; didn't you hear me?" the young man shouted. With a casual slash, a visible blade cut through the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Ethan replied solemnly, "You're an alien?"
The young man sneered, landing on the ground. He glanced at his wristwatch. "Combat power only eight? Trash. Wait a minute, someone with a power level of eight couldn't have dodged my strike." Saying this, he looked at Ethan in surprise. "Are you specializing in body refinement?"
Ethan was puzzled. "You're an alien, right?"
The young man frowned. "You natives can call me that, but we prefer you refer to us as the Exalted."
"The Exalted?" Ethan furrowed his brow.
Looking down disdainfully, the young man said, "Your planet has long been under the surveillance of our Gernia Empire. To us, you're just domesticated natives. Of course, we are the Exalted. Now, tell me, are you specializing in body refinement, and have you reached the 'Glimpse' stage, perhaps even close to the 'Probe' stage?"
"I don't understand what you mean," Ethan replied.
The young man's eyes narrowed. He thought for a moment—it made sense that natives of this planet wouldn't know about stage classifications.
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he stared at Ethan. "Attack me. Let me see your strength."
Ethan clenched his fists. "Are you sure?"
The young man laughed coldly. "I, Astor, won't be injured by a native like you. Even if you can hide your combat power, it's impossible for you to reach the Probe stage. And even if you did, you couldn't compare to me. I'll show you what a despairing gap looks like."
Ethan drew his iron rod. "Then I'll make my move."
Astor arrogantly beckoned with his finger.
In the next moment, Ethan charged toward Astor at high speed. The blade edge of the iron rod swept horizontally, cutting through the air, aiming for Astor's neck.
Astor easily dodged, his hands casually in his pockets. Mockingly, he said, "Planetary evolution can indeed produce a batch of savages. Fierce and decisive attacks, going for the kill right away. Well, that's good—only such methods can forge iron-blooded warriors."
Ethan's iron rod sealed off all of Astor's escape routes, each strike faster than the last. The fierce energy generated was like blades cutting the ground, leaving deep marks.
Astor moved with ease. Seeing Ethan's blade approaching, he lifted his leg; his battle boot directly met the blade edge. His hands remained in his pockets as he looked at Ethan with cold arrogance. "Combat power 302—not bad. Reaching the 'Glimpse' stage with just physical strength isn't easy. Even our academy's Probe-stage students find it hard to reach 'Glimpse' through body refinement alone. I admire you. I'll give you a chance follow me, become my slave. I can take you off this planet and show you a different starry sky."
Ethan pressed the iron rod firmly against Astor's battle boot, eyes filled with wonder. "A different starry sky?"
Astor boasted, "Of course! I'm an outstanding student of the First Military Academy of the Gernia Empire, qualified and bold enough to apply for the Planetary Evolution Trial. Once I successfully complete my mission, I can enter a higher institution. Following me would be the honor of your lifetime. Of course, it depends on whether there's anyone more suitable than you on this planet. You'd better hope you're not too inferior, haha!" With that, he kicked the iron rod out of Ethan's hand.
Watching Astor immersed in his superior arrogance, Ethan's eyes suddenly turned cold. His right palm began to vibrate rapidly, causing visible ripples in the air, as if grasping it.
Astor initially paid no attention, but when he saw this, he was incredulous. "Oscillating Palm? How do you know that?" In the next instant, Ethan's palm struck heavily at Astor's chest. A burst of energy spread out; Astor's white light armor shattered. He spat out blood and was sent flying backward. In mid-air, Astor struggled to lift his head, forcibly twisting his body. He drew a short blade and slashed at Ethan. Ethan charged toward the blade, his right palm vibrating rapidly once more.
Gritting his teeth, Astor roared, "You're not a native! You're from the stars!"
Ethan's gaze was icy as he struck out with his palm.
Astor growled, thrusting his short blade, but it hit nothing. Ethan's body vanished; what he struck was merely a residual image. "A movement combat technique?" Astor spat blood. The ring on his finger melted, forming pieces of armor that covered his entire body. With a bang, in the same spot, Astor was struck by Ethan's palm once more. This time, a cracking sound was faintly heard.
One second after being hit, the armor covered Astor completely. Unfortunately, it was too late. His heart was utterly shattered. His body crashed beside the spaceship in the crater, blood flowing along the hull.
Ethan knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. The blood vessels in his right hand had burst, and his face was contorted with pain.
Oscillating Palm was not something he could currently wield. If not for the purpose of killing Astor, he wouldn't have risked crippling his arm to use it. Fortunately, the ambush was successful; he had waited a long time for this moment.
In that brief instant, he had used Oscillating Palm twice and Swivel Steps once. His body trembled violently, already overburdened.
Slowly walking to Astor's corpse, he watched as the armor covering Astor's body gradually disappeared, returning to a ring.
Ethan removed the ring and placed it in his pocket. This was a Ring Armor, a protective device commonly carried by many practitioners in the stars. Astor's Ring Armor was the lowest grade, but it was sufficient to defend against attacks from Heaven-level powerhouses.
Besides the Ring Armor, Astor's wrist device that measured combat power was a personal terminal, containing all his information, including his location.
Ethan took off the personal terminal, expertly removed the tracking device, and stored it in his own Void Ring. Finally, he scanned Astor, his eyes flickering, and focused on the second knuckle of Astor's right hand. He directly severed it, and a chip fell out from the blood.
"Just as I thought," Ethan exclaimed with joy, picking up the chip. The reason he ambushed Astor and hadn't become an Evolver by absorbing energy crystals was to wait for this item.
The Body Sculpting Technique—a chip condensed from the energy of a super-strong practitioner. When integrated into one's body, it can stimulate cells and cleanse the body, allowing it to break through the 'Meridian Opening' stage and directly absorb cosmic energy for cultivation. This is universally recognized as the most effective cultivation method in the universe.
As for cultivating by consuming and absorbing energy crystals, it's considered a lower-tier method. It doesn't allow the body to directly absorb cosmic energy, requires constant searching for energy crystals, and makes it difficult to break through the 'Meridian Opening' stage.
People who cultivate this way are called wandering soldiers in the universe; many even refer to them as war slaves.
The cosmic energy that can be directly absorbed is called star energy. The energy crystals within mutated beasts are a form of condensed star energy but are too mixed and harmful if absorbed directly.
Ethan came from the stars. To legalize his identity, he hadn't cultivated using the Body Sculpting Technique before coming to Earth, placing himself completely in the position of an ordinary person. Now, on this planet, he no longer needed to worry. In the Planetary Evolution Trial, anything is possible.
In the universe, anyone who cultivates using the Body Sculpting Technique must register; otherwise, it's illegal. But in the Planetary Evolution Trial, what you obtain is yours—this is a rule set by the Gernia Empire's Youth Council, and no one can violate it.
"This person was only at the Probe stage, which means this Body Sculpting Technique has been used twice already—there's one use left. Unfortunately, I need to keep searching," Ethan muttered to himself. He threw Astor into the spaceship and turned to leave.
Suddenly, a shadow blocked the sunlight; someone was attacking from behind.
Ethan sidestepped, turning to swing his leg. With a bang, he clashed directly with the assailant. Recognizing the strength of an Earth-level powerhouse, Ethan immediately retreated.
The attacker also stepped back a few paces. Raising her head, a delicate face came into Ethan's view—a woman.
"Why are you attacking me?" Ethan's tone was icy. Although he didn't sense any killing intent from her, an attack was still an attack, and it was a sneak attack at that.
She glanced at the spaceship, then fixed her gaze on Ethan. "I saw you throw that alien's corpse into the ship. Who are you? Why did you kill the alien? What do you know?"
Ethan sneered, "Why should I tell you?"
She said coldly, "I'll make you talk." With that, she drew a dagger from behind and leaped toward Ethan. The dagger sliced through the air, emitting a cold gleam.
Ethan deftly dodged. The woman's speed was not slow; her dagger danced, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle, each strike aiming for Ethan's vital points.
Through the cold flashes, Ethan timed his move, grabbing her wrist. His other hand reached for her abdomen. Her brows furrowed; her feet cracked the ground as she released the dagger, reaching out to clash palms with Ethan. The air suddenly grew colder. Ethan's eyes narrowed—his palm was freezing. "A combat technique?"
"You are not my match. Tell me what you know," she demanded, her voice low. The temperature dropped again.