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

That thread was full of meaning of "change", "lie" and "infinite possibilities"!

It was like the most skillful weaver, cleverly weaving together Vero's resentment and Grol's anger, allowing them to catalyze and amplify each other, ultimately brewing a most perfect and ironic "destruction"!

Hector's heart sank to the bottom.

He knew what he had seen and experienced in that instant.

He understood instantly. Vero, the pathetic old man who had spent his entire life fighting against chaos and pursuing absolute order, had long since become, without even realizing it, the conduit to the thing he hated most! This trial, from the very beginning, was not a gamble between him and Vero.

That belongs to the master of all changes, the god of deception...

The whisper of the wicked.

Verona, his face veiled in black, turned to the human torch, his eyes filled with admiration, as if appreciating a work of art nearing completion, imbued with a destructive beauty. He firmly believed that this out-of-control scene before him was the perfect proof of his "soul-binding" theory—any attempt to coexist with chaos would ultimately only lead to self-destruction!

However, Hector didn't even glance at him again.

His gaze remained fixed on the soul struggling in agony amidst the flames. His face showed no anger, no panic, only an absolute calm, like that of a surgeon preparing for the most complex operation.

He knew that words were useless at this moment. He had to respond to this "dialogue" from a higher dimension with actions.

He stepped forward.

That step was both light and heavy. When his soles gently landed on the scorching hot grass, the energy field of the entire "Wenxinzhai" seemed to quiet down.

Supernatural power—Immovable as a mountain!

That was no longer a simple matter of mental defense. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, this supernatural power had been sublimated into an active "transformation"! The essence of chaos tends towards "movement" and "increase," an eternal increase in entropy. But Hector's domain, its core principle, is "stillness" and "reduction," a reversal of entropy flow. The two are natural enemies at the level of laws, like light and darkness, naturally mutually restraining each other.

Centered on Hector, an invisible, intangible, lightless, and absolutely "silent" realm, like a drop of clear water falling into boiling oil, instantly carved out a tranquil and undisturbed pure land in this raging sea of ​​fire!

The "heart fire" that could melt steel, upon touching the edge of this domain, seemed to encounter its natural enemy and let out a silent wail! Their violent, destructive inner structure was as if forcibly smoothed over from the most basic level by an invisible hand.

The flames were not blocked.

It has simply subsided.

Vero's smile froze instantly.

His powerful psychic perception was like hitting a wall that couldn't be understood!

He could clearly feel that the fuse he had projected into the depths of Grol's soul lost all connection the moment it touched that "silent realm," just like light being thrown into a black hole!

"What...what is this?" His icy voice carried a hint of barely suppressed horror.

Hector ignored him and took his second step.

His figure instantly passed through the entire sea of ​​fire, and behind him, the flames seemed to belatedly part automatically to separate for him.

Hector walked up to the barbarian youth who was still kneeling and roaring, but whose flames had gradually died down. He extended his right index and middle fingers together, and pressed his thumb against his ring and little fingers, making it look like a...sword.

After developing his own martial arts, Hector experimented with many physical techniques to help him unleash greater power when using his supernatural abilities.

At this moment, a point of milky white light, more dazzling than stars and purer than diamonds, condensed at the tip of the sword and touched Grol's brow.

Supernatural Power—The Spiritual Finger!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft sound like ice melting.

That pure and pristine true essence, containing "order" and "vitality," was like the sharpest yet most merciful scalpel, instantly piercing through Grol's skull, ignoring his raging spiritual energy, and precisely striking the pale purple "thread of deceit"!

"Eek—!!!"

A piercing scream, not belonging to this dimension and filled with disbelief, instantly resounded deep within the souls of all the psychic-sensitive individuals present!

Chapter 56 The Divine Power of Two Steps and One Finger

Vero's body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning. Two streams of black tears of blood flowed from beneath his eyes, which were covered by a black cloth! He felt that the faint connection between himself and a certain "great being" had been forcibly severed by this mortal's finger!

As for the deepest part of Grol's soul, the tangled "thread of deceit" was like a shadow illuminated by sunlight, letting out a silent wail, and was completely purified and erased from the conceptual level!

Immediately afterward, that pure true essence did not cease. Like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain, it instantly flowed throughout Grol's mental sea, which was on the verge of collapse due to the rampage of psionic energy, repairing the cracks scorched by the flames and soothing the frenzy born of anger.

Grol's massive body trembled violently! The crimson flames in his eyes, capable of devouring everything, extinguished instantly as if deprived of fuel! His face, contorted with rage, gradually returned to calm. Finally, his eyes rolled back, and as if all his strength had been drained, he slumped backward.

Hector didn't let him fall. He reached out his other hand and steadily supported his heavy body, then carefully laid him flat on the scorched but no longer burning grass.

Two steps, one finger.

The entire process was fluid and graceful, filled with a contradictory beauty that blended violence and harmony.

From Grol's outburst to Hector's intervention to quell it, only ten seconds elapsed.

But for everyone else present, those ten seconds felt like an eternity.

Karen, the young girl, stood blankly by the stream. For the first time, she understood that power could not be a curse that brought ice and death, but could also be a sweet rain that brought peace and new life.

She watched Hector's retreating figure, which was not the overwhelming power that Vero had displayed, but rather a vastness that encompassed everything.

At that moment, the fear she felt about her own power transformed into a longing.

At the entrance to the garden, Lucius Vero, the highest leader of the Star Language Hall, turned his black-clothed face toward the silent, statue-like Sister Commander beside him.

"Did you...see it?" His eyes were bleeding, and his voice trembled slightly from shock.

The silent nun did not answer. She simply raised her hand, clad in a silver power gauntlet, and gestured for silence to Vero.

She knew he could "see" it.

Then, her eyes, hidden in the shadow of her helmet and as empty as an abyss, looked directly at the ordinary boy who was kneeling down to examine the unconscious student. In her eyes, a complex mix of vigilance, confusion, and a hint of... acceptance that she herself was unaware of flashed through her eyes.

Hector slowly stood up, turned his head, and calmly looked at Vero.

“Lord Vero,” his voice, though not loud, echoed clearly in the garden that had survived the catastrophe, “now, do you still believe that anger cannot be ‘vented’?”

Vero's body trembled violently. The absolute order he had pursued all his life, the "sole truth" he had forged with seven million torches of souls, was being shaken to the brink of collapse in the face of this mortal's superior "order."

He wanted to refute, he wanted to rebuke, he wanted to completely obliterate this heretic before him. But when he sensed Hector's eyes, calm as an abyss, all his words stuck in his throat.

Because he sensed something he had never seen before in those eyes.

That was neither the victor's boasting nor the arrogance of a preacher.

It was a pure, unbiased compassion.

“You…” Vero managed to squeeze out a single word through gritted teeth.

“I will not reveal anything, Lord Vero,” Hector interrupted him calmly, “not because I fear your power, nor because I wish to settle this privately with you.”

Hector didn't look at the utterly distraught Vero. He simply turned to the Commander of the Silent Sisters, who had stood silently like a statue at the garden entrance, responsible for monitoring the area, and calmly said:

"I think the facts are already very clear."

He didn't immediately report Vero's crimes to Macardo. He knew it was pointless. A Chief Astrologer wasn't someone who could be easily brought down. Besides, Vero himself might not even know he had become Tzeentch's "channel."

What he needs is not a life-or-death political struggle.

But he needs to use this situation to gain greater political opportunities and make the scales more likely to tip in his favor.

Hector slowly walked up to the Silent Sister Commander and bowed slightly.

“Commander, you are the most impartial witness to this trial. I believe you have recorded everything that just happened in its entirety through your recorder.”

The silent nun nodded slowly.

“I implore you,” Hector’s voice became serious and solemn, “to truthfully report this record to all members of the ‘Nicaea Code Compilation Committee.’ At the same time, in my capacity as ‘Chief Metaphysical Advisor,’ I formally propose—”

He turned around, his gaze like a sword, piercing Vero's heart, which had already fallen into chaos due to the collapse of his faith!

"—Before the final hearing, in order to ensure the absolute safety of all trainees and the absolute fairness of the trial, I request the committee to temporarily suspend Lord Lucius Vero from all his duties and have you 'monitor' him 24 hours a day!"

"At the same time, I request that the committee expand the scale of the hearings to ensure credibility! I propose that Marcus Aurelius, the instructor of the Imperial Guard, join the committee to use 'military prowess' as evidence to determine the true strength of the troops!"

"I propose that the Martian sage Alkan join the committee, to use the 'instrument' as evidence to analyze the essence of truth!"

"I further urge that the Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice preside over the final trial, personally wielding the scales of 'law' to weigh a truly viable path to the future for the Empire!"

"I, Hector Kane, will prove my 'Way' to the entire Empire under this most impartial, open, and rigorous scrutiny!"

Every word he uttered was like a heavy hammer forged from law and rules, slamming down hard on Vero!

He did not use psychic powers to attack, nor did he use violence to threaten.

What he used was the empire's most prized and most unshakeable weapon—the pursuit of order.

Lucius Vero was 'asked' to leave, looking utterly dejected. As he turned away, the black ribbon that had been tightly covering his eyes slipped down an inch, revealing an empty eye that no longer flowed with black blood tears, but had completely lost all its luster, like a lifeless star.

Actually, Hector was wrong... Vero knew.

He didn't realize it only after Hector's hint; rather, he understood it the instant the "spiritual finger" severed the invisible thread.

It was a kind of "disconnection" originating from the soul level, a terrifying silence that followed the sudden disappearance of a "noise" that had long been lurking in the deepest part of his consciousness and that he had mistakenly identified as his own paranoia.

He had spent his entire life battling the whispers of chaos, and he knew that feeling better than anyone. But at that moment, he was horrified to discover that the most cunning and secretive whisper did not originate from the outside world, but rather from within his own "order"!

He pursued absolute control, yet he had already been "controlled" without realizing it; he tried to build the strongest dam, only to find that every brick of the dam had already been tainted by the sea he hated most. He used the tragedy of seven million torches of the soul to warn the world, but he never thought that his own burning heart might be the fuel most favored by the mastermind behind the scenes.

This ultimate, lifelong irony, like the sharpest ice blade he himself forged, pierced his heart, which had long been frozen into a stubborn stone by resentment.

That heart did not bleed; it simply shattered in an instant into billions of pieces of dust, impossible to piece back together, stained with black blood and tears.

Hector looked at his zombie-like back and felt no joy of victory, only a deeper sorrow.

He knew that he had not defeated Lucius Verro.

He turned around and looked at the garden, which, though in ruins, was still full of life; at the warrior, who, though unconscious, had been reborn; and at the girl, who, though still shaken, had eyes full of trust and hope.

He felt an unprecedented peace in his heart.

Thunder or mercy, Hector touched his chest, his "Heart of Silence" now dormant, and sincerely said:

"Praise the Emperor!"

Chapter 57 Methods of Cultivating the Mind and Tempering the Body

When the lifeless figure of Chief Astrologer Lucius Verona disappeared completely at the entrance of the "Mindful Hall" under the emotionless "escort" of the Silent Sister Commander, the air in this sky garden, which had been stretched to its limit by the rampage of psionic energy, finally relaxed with a sigh of relief.

Hector did not immediately comfort the terrified girl Karen, nor did he check on the unconscious barbarian youth Grol. He simply stood quietly in the center of the scorched grass, blackened by the "heart fire," and slowly closed his eyes.

Nearly half of the true essence within his body was consumed in that brief exchange.

Although it was a small scene, a lion must use its full strength to hunt a rabbit. This was the first time he had faced the Four Gods directly—even if it was just a trace of chaotic spiritual energy. From the moment he discovered the figure of "Tyrant" through the Qi Observation Technique, he had been using his full strength.

The Qi Observation Technique, as immovable as a mountain, the sword-finger-style Spiritual Finger, the tranquil heart... even the natal magic weapon, the Invisible Needle, within his mind is ready to strike.

It's always better to overestimate your opponent than underestimate them.

At this moment, it is operating on its own along the "small circulation" trajectory that connects the Ren and Du meridians, like the tides of the universe, inhaling and exhaling, rapidly replenishing the deficiencies.

At this moment, Hector's mind was not immersed in the peace of recovery. With the computing power comparable to a logic engine after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, his brain was frantically "replaying" everything that had just happened with almost ruthless efficiency.

Vero's paranoia, Tzeentch's whispers, Groll's loss of control, his own actions... every detail, every variable, was repeatedly analyzed and deconstructed in his mind.

He knew he had won a round. But it was a lucky win, and a dangerous one at that.

He won because he caught everyone off guard, because neither Vero nor the "being" behind him had ever seen the "Way of Silence," an "anomaly" that did not belong to this system of laws of the universe, up close.

He didn't know if Tzeentch had gained a better understanding of his "way" through this encounter.

He recalled the terrifying gaze of will he had felt when he advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage. Now that his opponent was on guard, and that treacherous god had included him, this tiny "pawn," in His endless script of destiny, could he still break free so easily?

Even Vero's visit this time... was it all part of His destiny?

Hector knew perfectly well that relying solely on his personal "supernatural powers" and "cultivation" was far from enough. He was like a knight-errant who had mastered unparalleled martial arts; although he could use skill to overcome brute force in an encounter, it was futile to try and fight against the entire empire's war machine.

What he needs is not one "victory" after another.

What he needed was a "system" that could be understood, accepted, and ultimately... used by the vast machine of the empire.

A system that can transform his mysterious "Tao" into a cold, quantifiable, and unquestionable "Law"...

"teacher……"

Karen's trembling, worried voice roused Hector from his reverie. She cautiously approached the still unconscious Grol, her blue eyes filled with lingering fear.

Hector opened his eyes, all the sharpness and calculation gone, leaving only a gentle calm like a deep pool. He walked to Grol's side, knelt down, and gently placed two fingers on the pulse of his thick wrist.

“He’s alright.” Hector’s voice carried a reassuring strength. “I’ve temporarily extinguished the fire in his heart; he’s just been overwhelmed by mental exhaustion and has fallen into a deep sleep. This is actually a good thing for him. After a thorough ‘detox,’ his ‘warrior’s heart’ will be even purer and more resilient than before.”

After saying that, he looked up at Karen, and in his dark pupils was reflected the girl's pale face, which still carried a trace of fear.

“And you, Karen? Are you scared?” he asked softly.

The girl's body trembled almost imperceptibly. She instinctively wanted to nod, but when she saw Hector's calm gaze, she inexplicably shook her head.