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

“Prove it.”

Makado's voice became extremely solemn.

His deep purple, ancient nebula-like aura of spiritual energy, at this moment, slowly emanated from his withered body, like a colossal beast awakening.

He wanted to see for himself!

He was going to use his most powerful psychic senses in human history—one that could pierce the deepest fog of the subspace—to personally verify whether the mortal before him was an "enlightened one" who had transcended life and death, or a pathetic madman whose mind had been clouded by power!

An indescribable, boundless will instantly transcended physical distance, like an invisible tide, engulfing Hector's seemingly unguarded soul!

Makado's "divine sense" did not launch a direct attack.

It is simply "searching".

Like a most learned librarian, it entered a vast, ultimate library called "Subspace." Its goal was to find the unique book within this library, the one and only one titled "Hector Kane."

In the past, although this book was protected by a solid golden shell called "The Heart of Silence," its "existence" could still be perceived. It was there, like a forbidden book locked in a safe; though it could not be read, everyone knew it was there.

Makado, it's gone.

His immense psionic energy, powerful enough to completely disintegrate an asteroid from the real universe, swept back and forth again and again in that chaotic ocean filled with madness and illusion.

He saw Khorne's ever-burning brass furnace, heard the buzzing of millions of flies in Nurgle's Garden, glimpsed Tzeentch's ever-changing crystal labyrinth, and even felt the decadent music filled with ultimate allure in Slaanesh's palace...

He saw everything.

The only thing missing was the soul fire that should have shone like a beacon in the darkness, belonging to Hector Kane!

There is nothing there.

There is no light, no darkness, no existence, and no nothingness.

There, there was an absolute, perfect silence, as if it had existed since the beginning of the universe…

It's as if the book titled "Hector Kane" was never written into this library. It's as if this person never left even the slightest trace of his existence in this universe!

It has form, but no appearance.

"This is impossible!"

Chapter 137 Non-Contention and Contention

At this moment, Makado's Dao heart, which had become as solid as a rock after living for thousands of years, experienced a violent and uncontrollable tremor!

He spent his entire life dancing with the behemoth that is the Warp. He knew better than anyone that any life form with a soul, if it leaves its own "reflection" in this ocean (except for those born with anti-phantom abilities), will never disappear.

A psionicist is someone who has a warp projection unless their soul dissipates.

That's the law! It's the ironclad law of the universe!

You can use a psionic shield to "block" it, and you can use stealth spells to "disguise" it, but you can never live to completely "erasure" it!

Because that would be tantamount to denying "existence" itself!

However, this mortal man before me did it.

Makado slowly withdrew his divine sense, which had been filled with shock and disbelief. His wrinkled face, which resembled an ancient map, revealed an expression of bewilderment, like that of a mortal.

"What...what exactly did you do?" His aged voice carried a hint of awe for the unknown truth that even he himself was unaware of.

“I did nothing, sir.”

Hector slowly opened his eyes, his dark pupils reflecting the Imperial Regent's shocked face, and calmly replied:

"I simply took back all that noisy 'reflection' that belonged to me, into that microcosm called 'self'."

After saying that, he slowly extended his right index finger.

An invisible yet incredibly real "domain" spread out from him instantly!

That was neither a psionic shield nor a repulsive force field.

It was an absolutely pure "dojo," filled with "harmony" and "balance"!

Within the area enveloped by this "dojo," Makado's restless soul, which had long been accustomed to navigating through the storms of warp space, felt a long-lost, absolute "peace"!

He could clearly "sense" the background noise from the subspace that constantly seeped in from the gap between reality and illusion in this quiet room, the "spiritual pollution" that was as ubiquitous as dust and filled with the negative emotions of billions of mortals...

Everything, upon coming into contact with this "dojo," melted away silently, like ice and snow illuminated by the sun.

The feeling was like an old craftsman who had worked for thousands of years in a noisy, crowded, and polluted casting temple, suddenly being transported to an empty, peaceful Garden of Eden filled with grass and the fragrance of flowers!

That sense of relief and comfort, originating from the deepest part of his soul, was so intense that even this man, who had lived for countless millennia and was the true second-in-command of the human empire, subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief.

“This…this is simply…” he murmured, his voice filled with disbelief, “…a…living, portable…super Geller field, a realm of darkness!”

His ancient eyes, which seemed to have seen through the long river of time, were fixed on Hector, and his gaze was filled with an unprecedented, dazzling light, as if he had discovered a new continent!

He knew what the two "supernatural powers" displayed by the mortal before him meant!

"The Golden Elixir Without Leaks" means that the cultivators of the Jiejiao Academy will become the empire's most perfect "stealth"!

They can penetrate into any of the most dangerous areas corrupted by chaos without being detected by any demons or chaos wizards! They will become the sharpest and most silent dagger in the Empire's hands!

This "training ground" that can purify everything means that they will become the empire's most fortified "mobile fortress"!

They can provide the most reliable shelter for fleets struggling in the storms of warp! They can bring the purest "gospel" to the mortal world troubled by the whispers of chaos!

This is no longer just "psychic energy"!

This is a completely new "law" that is enough to change the entire strategic landscape of the empire!

A completely new "order" that can rival the eternal "entropy increase" of "chaos"!

Of course, none of the children in the academy have even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet.

“You…” Macado looked at Hector, his ancient face displaying a complex expression of admiration and apprehension, like a chess player seeing a brilliant move that could overturn the entire game.

He knew that from this moment on, the mortal before him... or rather, no longer a mortal, was no longer a "chess piece" on his chessboard.

He has already acquired the qualification to have an equal "dialogue" with himself on this grand chessboard, with the entire galaxy as its chessboard.

It took Makado a long time to slowly recover from the immense shock. He slowly sat back down behind his ancient wooden table, a movement that seemed to carry the weight of the entire empire.

“It seems you have already acquired the power to bear more ‘cause and effect’ for yourself and for the empire.” His ancient eyes gleamed with a shrewdness that no one could understand, the brilliance of a “chess player.” “Now, tell me, child.”

"What advice do you have for the Navigator family, for those 'old friends' of Terra?"

Hector knew that the real "discourse" was only just beginning.

He calmly reclaimed the "dojo" that had driven the entire empire mad.

Then, he slowly walked to the chessboard that symbolized the highest power center of the empire, and calmly sat down opposite the living legend.

"My lord, my suggestion is just one word."

His voice, not loud but clear, slowly echoed in the quiet room filled with the atmosphere of history and the future.

"--'use'."

"Use?" A hint of amusement flashed in Makado's eyes.

“Yes, use them.” Hector’s lips curled into a smile. “Chief Orionus and the families behind him have committed heinous crimes. But now, killing them is the least efficient and most foolish choice for the Empire.”

"They still have 'value'."

"The Navigator families still control navigation on most of the Empire's interstellar routes. And those old nobles still hold sway over Terra's oldest networks of wealth and power. Eliminating them all would only trigger a violent internal conflict that could shake the foundations of the Empire, giving those 'enemies' who have long coveted us an opportunity to take advantage."

“Therefore, we will not kill them.” Hector’s voice, like that of the coldest jurist, was expounding a new law full of quid pro quo. “We will make them suffer more than death.”

"We must seize their weakness and turn that 'evidence' that would nail them to the pillar of shame into a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads that will never fall."

"They will provide the 'Intercepting Cult Academy' with a continuous and generous source of funding. They will use all their power to clear all obstacles for our plans in Terra and throughout the galaxy."

"And we, need only occasionally, at the height of their lavish banquets, gently ring the alarm bell called the 'Land of No Light,' reminding them that their lives, their glory, everything they have, depends solely on... our 'mercy.'"

"Of course, if necessary, we can even teach them the 'Way of Silence' that they originally wanted to obtain by dissecting my brain... Although spreading the knowledge of the Dao Academy is a legitimate strategy that we will do after verification."

This political strategy, imbued with Machiavellian ruthlessness and Legalist rigor, was delivered by Hector on his handsome face, which exuded the charm of the "Tao," creating a strange and unsettling beauty filled with contradictions and harmony.

A genuine, heartfelt smile, like that of a worthy opponent, appeared on Makado's face.

“Very good.” He nodded slowly. “Very good.”

“In exchange,” Hector calmly placed his first piece on this chessboard, “I, in the name of the Dean of the ‘Intercepting Sect’, formally apply to you and the Empire for ownership of the ‘Myriad Worlds Star Chart Pavilion’ and the dark technology artifact within it called ‘The Realm of No Light’…”

“I need it, my lord.” Hector’s gaze became incredibly profound, as if piercing through the boundaries of time and space. “I need it to provide my academy’s future disciples with a safe place to ‘transcend tribulations’ that is isolated from heavenly secrets and free from any external interference.”

The entire quiet room fell into a long silence once again.

Macado's ancient eyes, which seemed to have seen through the long river of time, scrutinized the boy before him for a long time.

He saw in this mortal a shadow that was incredibly similar to himself.

One, equally lonely, equally burdened with a heavy secret, yet equally willing to stop at nothing for a greater goal...

"The player who wields the chess pieces".

"……allow."

After a long while, Makado slowly stood up from behind the rustic wooden table.

He didn't look at Hector again, nor did he touch the ivory chess piece that he had long regarded as the "future".

He slowly walked to the huge crystal window and looked down at the enormous palace that was rising from the ground below, a symbol of the pinnacle of human power.

His voice was old, yet it carried an unprecedented solemnity, as if he were entrusting the future of the entire empire to someone else.

"Go ahead, kid."

“Go do what you have to do.”

"The Empire is far more complex than you can imagine."

"And you, you already have the right to make your move."

Chapter 138 Returning to the Daoist Academy

Terra, the floating garden beneath an eternal artificial sky, is now the most unique location in the heart of the entire empire's power structure.

It lacks the strictness and ruthlessness of the Imperial Guard headquarters, the bloatedness and heaviness of the Executive Yuan, and the coldness of the Ministry of Justice filled with absolute rules.

This is "Wenxinzhai," the headquarters of the "Jiejiao Daoyuan," and the first beacon of wisdom that Hector Kane personally lit for this dark universe.

The dean has been gone for several days.

Without their mentor, who was like a pillar of strength, the cultivators did not slack off. Instead, they practiced Hector's teachings in an even more rigorous and self-disciplined manner.

On the open-air platform of the "God's Platform," covered with fine white sand, Chief Student Karen was leading dozens of students like her, whose innate spiritual energy leaned towards the "yin" and "cold" attributes, in the most difficult "Qi Refining Scroll" mental training course of the day.

The girl's simple grey monk's robe, set against her increasingly pure and ethereal aura, like early spring snow, gave her an almost otherworldly, holy quality. Her eyes were closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly in the simulated, gentle morning breeze. Her pale, almost transparent fingertips hovered over a withered, lifeless "fire fern" leaf.

The fire fern, a peculiar plant from the volcanic world of Nocturne, possesses a faint, fiery energy naturally contained within its leaf veins. This was the most difficult "test" Hector had specially prepared for them before his departure.

"...If the heart is pure as ice, one will not be alarmed even if the sky collapses..."

Karen silently recited the general principles of the Ice Heart Technique taught by her mentor over and over again in her heart. She carefully guided the increasingly pure true essence within her body, which was like a polar cold current, trying to transform it into the legendary "Kan Water" vitality that could nourish all things.

However, she failed.

She could clearly feel that her true essence, filled with "stillness" and "coldness," reacted with the stubborn "fiery" fire within the withered leaf the moment it came into contact with it, creating a most instinctive and intense repulsion!

An invisible chill, filled with the meaning of "annihilation" and "end," uncontrollably overflowed from her fingertips! The already withered fire fern leaf was instantly covered with a fine, pale white frost, as if it had been thrown into liquid nitrogen! The last remaining trace of "fire" was completely and mercilessly annihilated in the face of this absolute "cold."

"...Failed again."

Karen slowly opened her eyes, and a deep sense of defeat, which she could not hide, flashed in her sapphire-blue eyes.

This marks her 1,080th failure in the past month.

She could easily condense the moisture in the air into the purest dew. But that was merely the level of "technique." What she sought was the higher level of "Tao," the kind her mentor spoke of, that could bring withered trees back to life and ignite vitality in the midst of desolation!

"Transforming cold into life"... These four words, like an insurmountable, towering snow-capped mountain, weighed heavily on her Daoist heart, which pursued "protection." She couldn't understand why her pure intention, which originated from the deepest part of her soul to protect all life, always manifested as such a cold, all-rejecting "annihilation."

On the other side of the platform, another chief student, Grol, a barbarian youth who was like an awakened volcano, faced a completely different predicament.

He was leading another group of students, whose auras were equally fierce and masculine, in a "Qi Refining Scroll" physical training program targeting their meridians. Unlike Karen, he wasn't engaging in meticulous energy manipulation. He simply stood there.

Like a mountain, it stands silently.

His muscular physique, bulging like a granite sculpture, reflected a bronze, powerful sheen under the simulated sunlight. Each of his breaths was long and deep, as if resonating with the gravitational field of the entire Terra. His obsidian eyes, which had once burned with fierce flames, were now fixed intently on the pure white, ordinary sand beneath his feet.

In his perception, this sandy land was no longer sandy land.