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

But they all share a common characteristic—

Unprecedented stability!

There was no sign of psionic chaos whatsoever. There was no trace of warp contamination whatsoever.

Each disciple who successfully broke through looked exhausted, but their eyes were incredibly clear, filled with a sense of control over the newfound power.

This is completely different from the Empire's "psychics" who were born out of pain and struggle!

They are not slaves to power.

They are the masters of power!

Finally, as the last glimmer of light stabilized, this collective tribulation came to an end.

Hector's figure slowly descended from mid-air.

He waved his hand gently.

Some figures flashed by and were teleported by Hector to the Silent Sisters who were already prepared... Those were the "losers," the losers who had failed in the great formation and were controlled by Hector.

The "sky-covering array" that had enveloped the entire area and blocked all prying eyes quietly dissipated like smoke.

A fresh, pure, and vibrant atmosphere instantly spread out.

This is the "spiritual essence" generated by the interaction between spiritual energy and the cultivator's own true essence after successfully transcending the tribulation.

All the spectators in Wenxinzhai felt that they had just taken a light breath and their spirits were lifted, and the fatigue of the past few days was swept away.

This is yet another kind of silent shock.

All eyes were drawn to the center of the arena.

A clerk in a Ministry of Justice uniform, trembling, held up a data board and was doing the final statistics.

His lips trembled, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He checked it three times.

Finally, he raised his head and, in a voice almost like a dream, reported to the reviewing stand, to Macado, and to all the important figures, this number that was destined to be recorded in the annals of the empire.

"Report...Report!"

"There are a total of fifty participants in this 'Foundation Building Trial'."

"Successfully survived the Heavenly Tribulation and advanced to the 'Foundation Establishment' stage..."

He swallowed hard.

Forty-two people!

This number was like an invisible giant hammer, smashing hard into everyone's hearts!

This is an advancement for a psionicist, a difficult breakthrough to a level as powerful as the Astartes!

The entire viewing platform fell into a deathly silence.

The silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone thought they heard wrong.

A representative from the administration department couldn't help but ask sharply, "How much did you say?!"

The clerk shuddered in fright, but still mustered his courage and repeated it aloud.

"Forty-two people! My lord! Success rate... eighty-four percent!"

84 percent!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"This is a lie! This is a trick to deceive the emperor!"

"Do you know what the success rate is for the Empire to train a powerful official psionicist? One in ten thousand! And that's the most optimistic estimate!"

"Eighty-four percent? Does he think this is some kind of assembly line producing canned ants and cows?!"

Questions, exclamations, and gasps of surprise mingled together.

This data is completely beyond their comprehension.

It is not a miracle.

It's defying common sense! It's rewriting the rules!

It declared to the entire empire in the most brutal and direct way—

A new era belonging to psionicists may be on the horizon!

Hector ignored the commotion on the viewing platform.

His gaze calmly swept over the forty-two faces in front of him, their cheeks flushed with excitement at their success.

"Congratulations."

He spoke slowly.

"From this day forward, you are no longer mortals."

"You are the first generation of the 'Intercepting Sect Academy'—"

"Foundation-building monk!"

In the silent cellar deep beneath the continent below the Wenxinzhai.

Several pairs of cold, murderous eyes opened simultaneously.

Barrow slowly stood up.

He clenched his fist, feeling the new power surging within him, yet perfectly under his control.

They all succeeded.

His gaze was fixed on the entrance to the cellar, as if it could penetrate the thick layers of rock.

His lips opened and closed silently.

"For...the Taoist Academy."

Chapter 204 The Foundation of the Taoist Academy

The calamity clouds have long since dispersed.

But the invisible shock that enveloped the training ground was more intense than ever before.

Forty-two newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators stood quietly in place.

They showed no ecstasy, no shouts.

Having experienced that terrifying ordeal of confronting their own souls, their minds had been tempered and refined like steel.

Their aura was deep and profound, yet it also carried a vibrant vitality, like a new life emerging from its cocoon.

Everyone's eyes were clear and firm.

They simply stood there, and naturally formed a powerful and harmonious energy field.

This space resonated subtly with its surroundings, with the pulse of Terra, and even with the sky above.

Stable. Harmonious. Balanced.

This is the manifestation of "Tao".

On the viewing platform, everyone was speechless.

Those bigwigs from all departments of the Empire had witnessed far too many out-of-control psionicists.

They had seen people self-destruct because they couldn't control their powers. They had seen people driven mad by the whispers of the warp. They had seen their bodies mutate and transform into Chaos Eggs.

In their minds, "psychic energy" is a mad beast that must be bound with the thickest chains and is ready to be humanely destroyed at any time.

But these people in front of me...

What are they?

They didn't seem like madmen wielding explosives. Rather, they seemed like... a group of highly skilled swordsmen who knew their swords inside and out.

Power, in their hands, is not a curse, but a tool that can be perfectly controlled.

This revolutionary cognitive shock was far more impactful to them than the "84% success rate"...

The figure, suspended in mid-air like a god, slowly descended.

Hector Kane landed in front of everyone.

He was still wearing a simple linen Taoist robe, but at this moment, no one present dared to underestimate him in the slightest.

His gaze calmly swept over the forty-two disciples in front of him.

That gaze was gentle, yet carried an all-knowing majesty.

Everyone he saw involuntarily straightened their backs.

Hector's voice rang out, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"You have not disappointed me."

He nodded slightly, and then gently pressed his palm against the ground below the training ground.

A slight tremor came from the ground.

To everyone's astonishment, an entrance slid open silently.

Several figures, equally somber yet filled with chilling killing intent, emerged step by step from the darkness.

It was Barrow who led the seven Dao Guardians who survived the Battle of Necromonda!

Their auras had clearly reached the Foundation Establishment stage!

Moreover, compared to the disciples on the field who have just broken through, their true essence is more condensed and more...sharp!

That is the killing intent forged in blood and fire!

On the other side, the three strongest Foundation Establishment cultivators who had completed their tribulation at the "pivot point"—Karen, Grol, and Tectus—also stepped forward and joined the group.

"Add them."

Hector's voice rang out again.

"The first batch of the Jiejiao Academy consists of fifty-two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators."

He didn't give everyone much time to process it before announcing the next decision, one that made the hearts of all the newly recruited cultivators pound wildly.

"From this moment forward, you forty-five people will have a new identity."

"—Teaching Assistant"

Barrett, Tectus, Lucian, and the others all held their breath.

Hector's gaze became incredibly deep and solemn.

"You will be the first inheritors of the Dao Academy. Your mission is:..."

"To continue the lost teachings of the Taoist academy!"

"You will personally guide the 'disciples' who follow you, imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving their doubts."

"You will participate in the management of various affairs of the academy, becoming the first foundation stones that will support this institution and allow it to stand for ten thousand years!"

"You will enjoy the glory bestowed by the Emperor, and the same treatment as Astartes. You too must give your all for humanity! Until death do you part!"

"Are you willing?!"

This question, like a thunderclap, resounded deep within the souls of the fifty-two people!

After a brief silence.

Barrow, the taciturn captain of the Dao Guard whose eyes blazed with the fire of revenge, suddenly knelt on one knee!

His actions were like igniting a spark on the grassland.

"Crash-"

Fifty-two newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators knelt down on one knee in unison!

They then greeted each other with the unique fist-and-palm salute of the Taoist temple, with the left hand as a palm and the right hand as a fist.