Warhammer Cultivation: Cultivating the Tao Te Ching in the 40K Universe

"The people from the State Council will be here soon. They will decide your fate."

Having said that, he ignored Hector, turned around, and left with his men without looking back.

Only when the heavy footsteps completely disappeared did Hector's legs give way, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He leaned against a broken pillar, panting heavily.

He survived.

In the first ten minutes after arriving in the Warhammer world, he faced Space Marines and survived the whispers of the warp.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glanced at his unharmed hands, and felt a mix of emotions.

This world is ten thousand times more real and cruel than any novel or game he could have imagined.

But it was precisely in this desperate world that the ancient wisdom in his mind shone with an unprecedented and incredible brilliance.

He was no longer just an observer who could only sigh for the human empire from in front of the screen.

He will use the "Tao" to forge a path to heaven that no one has ever walked before in this dark forest of iron and blood.

Soon after, a group of Imperial civilians, dressed in gray uniforms and carrying data tablets and scanners, cautiously entered the ruins of the palace under the escort of armed soldiers.

They saw the boy leaning alone against the pillar.

A middle-aged official who looked to be in charge walked over. His gray uniform was wrinkle-free, and his eyes were colder than the corpses on the ground.

He didn't look at Hector's face; his gaze was fixed on the data panel in his hand, as if the surviving boy before him was merely a data entry to be processed. He asked in a businesslike, emotionless tone, "Name, ID number, ethnicity."

Hector looked up at the microcosm of the vast bureaucratic system of the future empire before him, and at the indifference towards life in its eyes.

In his heart, the memories belonging to Lin Chen and the survival instinct belonging to Hector completely merged at this moment.

He answered clearly in a somewhat hoarse voice:

“Hector Kane. I have no number. My family… all died in the… riot just now.”

He was an orphan.

A completely new, clean identity, one that can be painted with anything in this new world.

The story begins here.

Chapter 2 The Library of Prophets

The middle-aged official's eyes remained unmoved, as if he heard the story of his entire family dying in the riots dozens of times every day. He simply scribbled a few lines on his data panel, producing a series of monotonous "clicks."

"Hector Kane, no family history, identified as a war orphan. Follow me."

The empire is too big, so big that... in many ways, the empire doesn't care.

His tone, like his commands, was cold and efficient. There was no comfort, no pity, only the standard procedure of a massive war machine handling redundant parts.

Hector followed silently behind him. He knew this was the norm in the Empire. Warmth and humanity were the most expensive luxuries in the universe, and he had none of them now.

He was led away from the bloody ruins and through several streets made up of massive steel walls.

On the street, squads of armed soldiers marched past in orderly steps, their power armor emitting a dull hum. The civilians, like frightened rats, huddled against the walls, heads bowed, unable to look them in the eye. A palpable sense of obedience and fear filled the air.

Finally, after months of solitary confinement in a tiny "prison" of a few square meters in what was either a spaceship or a giant transport vehicle, countless physical and mental tests, and irregular, intermittent periods of passive unconsciousness (before falling into unconsciousness, he would vaguely hear phrases like "for the safety of the voyage"), he finally found himself in a spaceship or a giant transport vehicle.

Hector, who could only use the Tao Te Ching to repair his body and mend his two souls when he had a spare moment, seemed to arrive as some kind of "excellent material" in a huge complex surrounded by high walls and electric fences.

The sign at the entrance bears a line of simple Gothic text: "Terra 37 Citizen Regeneration Center".

It was a name that sounded grand and imposing, but Hector understood its true meaning from the numb and wary eyes of the children around him—an orphanage, or rather, the Imperial Human Resources Processing Center.

Hector, or rather Lin Chen, who was able to serve as the empire's "human resources," had already sincerely praised the emperor.

The days that followed were as monotonous as a glass of faded water.

Hector had his head shaved and was dressed in a uniform gray jumpsuit, numbered 2025-734.

He lived in a huge dormitory with hundreds of other children of similar age. Their daily routine was planned down to the minute: they would get up at six o'clock for physical training; eat at seven o'clock, which was a tasteless, paste-like nutritional nutrient paste; from eight o'clock to five o'clock in the afternoon, there was "civic education" and "basic skills learning"; and the evenings were filled with more physical training and ideological indoctrination.

The instructors here are all retired Imperial soldiers who enforce discipline through shouting and whipping. The education here has nothing to do with the humanities or arts; it consists only of literacy, basic arithmetic, introductory mechanical repair, and most importantly—absolute loyalty to the Emperor and the Human Empire. Every day, they must recite the "Imperial Truth" and are told that everything they have, including their lives, belongs to the Empire, and they are ready to dedicate themselves to the great revival of humanity.

For other children, this place is hell, a crucible that obliterates individuality.

But for Hector Kane, this cold cage, by a twist of fate, became the best "cave" for his cultivation.

Although the environment here is harsh, it has an ironclad order and regularity.

There was no more battlefield noise, no more barbarian threat, and most importantly, no more roaming warp predators.

The Emperor's divine might, like an invisible dome, enveloped the core region of Terra, keeping out the most dangerous Chaos corruption.

Every night, when the dormitory was filled with tired snoring, that was Hector's time to "ask questions".

He would sit cross-legged on his narrow bed, eyes slightly closed, adjusting his breathing. At first, the fatigue of the day and the mental stress made it difficult for him to calm down. But whenever this happened, he would silently recite the Tao Te Ching in his mind.

"Attain utmost emptiness, hold fast to stillness. All things arise together, and I observe their return."

The profound words were like a clear spring, washing away the clutter in his mind. Soon, everything outside faded away—the instructor's scolding, the strange smell of the nutritional paste, the cries of his comrades… all turned to dust and settled. His spiritual world once again transformed into that "tranquil realm."

This time, he was no longer passively filtering subspace energy. He began to actively and carefully draw out those harmless "cosmic background energy" from the gap between reality and the psionic sea.

This was an extremely delicate process. He felt as if he were on the shore of a raging ocean, trying to pick a single drop of pure water with a needle. The vast majority of the energy was filled with a turbulent nature, and he dared not touch it. Only a very small amount of energy, as faint as starlight, carried an aura of balance and peace.

Knowing the dangers of subspace, he dared not rashly use other classics of Chinese civilization, and only dared to try them cautiously.

He drew these energies into his body, and then finally discovered the second classic that could be used—the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic.

In his previous life, Lin Chen was quite interested in traditional Chinese medicine and had read some classic texts. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic is not only a medical book, but also a health preservation bible that explains the laws governing the human body and pursues the "unity of man and nature".

"By following the principles of Yin and Yang, harmonizing with the methods of numerology, eating and drinking in moderation, maintaining regular daily routines, and avoiding excessive labor, one can maintain both physical and mental well-being and live out one's natural lifespan."

Based on the description of meridians in the *Neijing* (Inner Canon of Medicine), he began to try to guide that gentle "true essence" through his body using his mind. From the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin to the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming... one cycle after another.

The process was arduous and tedious. His body was in poor condition due to long-term malnutrition, and his meridians were obstructed, like a silted-up riverbed. The first wisp of true energy he circulated was like an oxcart moving forward in mud, each step consuming enormous mental energy.

But Hector did not give up.

Day after day, water dripping wears away stone.

A month later, he could clearly feel subtle changes taking place in his frail body. After the grueling physical training every day, while others were exhausted, he only needed to meditate for an hour to recover most of his strength. His complexion gradually became rosy, and his originally thin body began to show some visible muscle definition.

A few months later, his senses became exceptionally sharp. He could hear the sound of his instructor's boots fifty meters away, smell the subtle differences between different batches of nutritional paste, and even roughly distinguish the outlines of objects in the dark.

This is the power of spiritual practice. A powerful force that arises entirely from within, without relying on external things, subtly and silently nourishing the body.

Hector's change did not attract much attention. In this vast regeneration center, individual differences were considered meaningless statistical errors. He simply moved from the "weak" category to the "normal" category.

But he himself knew that he was undergoing a complete transformation.

The opportunity came a year later during a screening test.

In order to distribute the orphans to various positions needed by the Empire, the center held a comprehensive test. The test included physical fitness, mechanical operation, and most importantly—reading, writing, and logic skills.

Hector performed only moderately well in the physical fitness test, deliberately concealing most of his progress and only achieving a slightly above-average score. However, he no longer concealed his abilities in the afternoon's cultural test.

The test paper, written on rough paper, was like a foreign language to the children who had only studied basic Terran for a year. But for Hector, who possessed a modern soul and whose mental strength far surpassed that of ordinary people after a year of training, it was simpler than a first-grade math problem.

He completed all the questions in less than half the time, including the bonus questions that involved complex logic and data classification.

For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on his face when the instructor took away his test paper, which was filled with writing.

The test results came back quickly. Hector Kane, ID 2025-734, was rated "excellent" in logic and cognitive abilities.

His life trajectory thus ushered in its first turning point.

He was not assigned to the foundry as an apprentice, nor was he sent to the Imperial Army's reserve corps. Instead, he was transferred by order to a special department located deep underground in Terra—the Eleventh Division of the Historical Documents and War Reports Archives under the Imperial Administrative Office.

When Hector first stepped into this place, he almost thought he had returned to some large library from a past life.

Towering bookshelves stretched as far as the eye could see, crammed with rolls of parchment, papyrus, and, more often, data boards that shimmered with a faint light. The air was thick with the smell of old paper and ozone, and only a few dim orbs of light provided illumination, lending the space a quiet and mysterious air.

This is his new job. A "grave" in the eyes of others, a place that is dull, boring, and offers no hope of advancement.

But for Hector, this was paradise.

It's a real "library"!

His job was to perform preliminary classification, numbering, and archiving of the mountains of battle reports and captured documents sent back from the front. It was an incredibly tedious task, but he did it with great pleasure.

Because these battle reports record everything about a vast empire that is expanding at an unprecedented rate! They record the footsteps of those legendary heroes—the Primarchs—and their legions!

He saw the battle reports of Lion King Ryan Johnson and his First Legion, the Dark Angels.

He read the official propaganda about Forgrim and his Third Legion, the "Sons of the Emperor," perfectly restoring a certain civilized world.

He even found snippets of information about Angron and his "World Eater" legion, with reports using euphemistic terms to describe their "extraordinary combat efficiency" and "disturbing casualty ratio."

This information, corresponding to the "future history" in his mind, added countless vivid details. But he also discovered some anomalies. The general trend of history seemed to be as he knew it, but the key moments of some major events were not quite the same.

For example, he discovered that events that occurred in the original "Warhammer Universe" in the order ABCD were now ACBD. The order had changed, but the cause, the result, and the nodes themselves remained the same.

The Ulano celebration, which should have taken place, did not occur with the end of the battle; the fighting continued.

Horus, on the other hand, has not yet ascended to the position of Warmaster that he had already secured.

But this does not change the fact that the Emperor is still the Emperor, the Empire is still the Empire, Horus is still the first God of War under the Emperor, and the celebration of Ulanor seems to be taking place in the not-too-distant future.

He was like a student who had the standard answers, knowing a vast number of people and events, but when he verified every knowledge point in the textbook, he found that reality was not entirely consistent with the book.

But he soon put all of that behind him.

"They come, the security!"

His cultivation never slacked off. The quiet environment of the archives was more suitable for him than the regeneration center. Every day, he could feel the "true essence" within his body growing stronger. He had already completed the initial connection of the twelve regular meridians and began to attempt to break through the eight extraordinary meridians.

He knew that simply understanding history and possessing power was not enough. Because...

Hector, Lin Chen, is a fervent fan of the Warhammer universe and an eternal regret. After merging his soul and body with that of this world, he wants to change the original tragedy of humanity in this world.

Only when there is peace can there be greater peace, and only then can there be lesser peace.

He needed an opportunity, a chance to step out of this dark, underground archive and into the presence of those who could change history.

He needs to demonstrate a value that cannot be ignored.

Therefore, he turned his attention to another ancient Chinese book—the Book of Changes.

The Book of Changes (I Ching), the foremost of all classics, is a book of change. If the Tao Te Ching is his "mental method" and the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic is his "practice method," then the Book of Changes is his "technique"—the way of deduction.

One day, while Hector was sorting through a batch of logistics reports from the vicinity of the Cardian star system, his eyes were drawn to an inconspicuous transportation plan.

A supply fleet called "The Gift of the Eagle" will be carrying large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and prefabricated components to a remote mining planet that has just completed a "conformity ceremony."

Hector's heart skipped a beat.

He remembered the name. In the future, the wreckage of the "Gift of the Aquila" would be discovered in the orbit of an abandoned gas giant planet, and after research by Imperial archaeologists, it would be proven that it was destroyed during the Great Expedition by an attack by an unidentified "Alien Ghost" fleet wielding Gauss weapons.

"Alien Ghost," "Gauss Weapon"... the answer is self-evident.

Although a large-scale "Great Awakening" was still more than 10,000 years away, during the Great Expedition, small groups of prematurely awakened space necromancers occasionally wandered the universe like ghosts. This supply fleet, unfortunately, ran into one.

Historically, this fleet was completely annihilated, with no survivors.

Hector's breathing became somewhat rapid.

This is an opportunity. An opportunity to prove my abilities and to create a "miracle".

He couldn't simply write a report saying "There are enemies there," as that would be tantamount to telling everyone he was a prophet, and the consequence would definitely be being dissected and studied. He had to issue the warning in a... more subtle, more "reasonable" way.

That evening, in a secluded corner of the archives, Heck sat cross-legged. Having no coins, he retrieved three hexagonal nuts of almost identical size and weight from the repair kit.

He held his breath, visualizing the route of the "Gift of the Sky Eagle" fleet and the icy starfield fraught with danger. He channeled a wisp of pure true essence into the three nuts in his hand, then gently tossed them away.

After six tosses, a hexagram was obtained.

"Ze Shan Xian" (泽山咸) is composed of the upper trigram Dui (兑) and the lower trigram Gen (艮). Dui represents a lake and joy, while Gen represents a mountain and stillness. It symbolizes resonance and interaction. This is a seemingly peaceful hexagram.

But then he immediately consulted the oracle again and received a different result.

"Earth over Mountain" (地山谦). The upper trigram is Kun (坤), and the lower trigram is Gen (艮). Kun represents the earth, and Gen represents the mountain. The mountain is underground, symbolizing ultimate humility and concealment.

The change in the hexagram from "Xian" to "Qian" made Hector's gaze become serious.

The hexagram "Xian" represents apparent peace and the smooth voyage of the supply fleet. However, the changing hexagram "Qian" signifies a mountain hidden underground, a perfect illustration of a "lurking crisis"! Gen represents mountain, stone, and metal. Kun represents earth, stillness, and the end.

"Underground, metal...dead silence..."

He was almost certain.

The next day, Hector was “clumsy” in handling the filing process for the transport plan.

On the data panel interface, he accidentally delayed the fleet's scheduled departure time by twelve hours, citing the need to "verify the micro meteor shower data for that star region with the astronomical observatory."