For the next dozen or so days, Axis spent eight hours a day transmitting ki to the Adeptus Custodes to temper their bodies, followed by four hours of combat training and eight hours of rest.
Over the course of fifteen days, the Custodians' physical abilities improved by thirty percent. Their speed, agility, and even stamina all increased.
Through this strengthening process, Axis discovered that the effects were greatest the first time. It still worked afterward, but the rate of growth slowed.
Axis also felt his own body changing during those days. As the Legendary Super Saiyan, he had yet to transform, but—
The potential of the Legendary Super Saiyan was still there. His strength grew almost every day. Axis didn't need to work hard at cultivation; the Legendary Super Saiyan simply had no need for that sort of thing.
What Axis needed was to learn to control this power and improve his mental strength—or, rather, the strength of his soul!
After training ended on the final day, Axis found time to ask his teacher, Malcador, whether he was a Blank.
Being a Blank had plenty of advantages. Blanks could suppress Psykic Power and effectively resist the Warp's corruption.
"Axis, do you think you're a Blank? Do you meet the criteria?" Malcador asked in reply.
Did Psykic Power fail around him? No. Malcador and the Emperor could both use it with ease right in front of Axis. They had even used it to keep him conscious.
Some of the sanctioned Psykers aboard the Emperor's Dream had also passed by Axis without their powers weakening or disappearing.
"So I'm not a Blank!" Axis said.
"That's right! You're not a Blank, nor are you a Psyker.
"To a certain extent, your soul even casts a shadow in the Warp. It's as utterly ordinary as that of the Imperium's countless trillions of people." Malcador explained.
Long ago, Malcador had used his Psykic Power to enter the Warp and observe the shadow of Axis's soul.
Axis's soul was exceptionally unremarkable. It was so plain that it wouldn't attract the attention of any daemon or other Warp entity. Who would have thought it?
Such a weak, unremarkable soul belonged to someone with a body so brutally powerful in Realspace.
If Axis's ki couldn't somewhat resist the Warp's corrupting influence and give him greater resistance to it—
Then Axis's soul would be almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person's.
But that was perfect. If no daemons noticed him, those evil beings wouldn't target him.
His soul wasn't like a Primarch's, shining in the Warp like a brilliant beacon and drawing in endless daemons.
Well, it seemed Saiyans really weren't very good with things like the mind or the soul. Even Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan, had once been controlled by certain technological methods!
Axis hadn't been born a Super Saiyan. He'd been transformed later using the Emperor's genetic enhancement technology.
He was just an ordinary Low-Class Warrior Saiyan, so his soul wouldn't be particularly strong. Even a naturally born Super Saiyan wouldn't have a particularly powerful soul.
Even death in the Dragon Ball World just meant getting a halo above your head. The laws there were completely different from those here.
"Axis, ki is your foundation. Your body has already been enhanced, but ki is the basis of everything. Study this power carefully," Malcador said meaningfully.
"But, teacher, didn't you say I couldn't train right now?" Axis asked.
As the Legendary Super Saiyan, even though he was one by artificial means, his strength was growing constantly.
"I'm telling you to study ki. Let it circulate through your body, and explore its other uses.
"I'm not telling you to do physical exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises, or stretches!" Malcador bellowed.
When Axis talked about training, he meant doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and even practicing punches.
You fool, your body has already been enhanced to its limit. Why would you need to do all that?
Did you think ordinary training could make you stronger? It couldn't.
If exercise alone could produce a body superior to one altered by genetic engineering, all of humanity would have been Custodians by now.
For a full twenty-five years, the Emperor had devoted all his efforts to you, developing your genes almost to their maximum potential.
At most, you could hone your combat skills and learn to fight all kinds of enemies in all kinds of environments.
Even gravity training wouldn't improve Axis's body by much. It had already been enhanced to the peak of its current potential.
His body had reached a bottleneck. Unless he broke through it, Axis couldn't grow any stronger.
Axis nodded, only half understanding. Though he had the body of the Legendary Super Saiyan, his soul was utterly ordinary.
So if a Keeper of Secrets wanted to, could it possess him the way it had Fulgrim?
Could his ki hold it off? Axis didn't dare gamble on that. He also didn't know whether there was any way to strengthen his soul.
A few days later, the Emperor personally bestowed upon Axis a golden Aquila Terminator Armor.
The Power Armor was made of Auramite, an exceptionally precious metal with far greater defensive strength than Adamantium or Plasteel.
Its most special feature was that it was almost completely inert at the quantum level, making it less susceptible to the influence of the Warp.
As for Power Weapons, the Emperor had specially prepared two Power Fists for Axis. One could fire bolt rounds.
The other could fire an Energy Cannon. Its ammunition could also be changed to suit Axis's needs, letting it fire Melta or Plasma Weapons.
"Axis, from today onward, you'll officially become a Custodian and fight for the Imperium of Man!"
Axis nodded and accepted the Emperor's Adeptus Custodes Power Armor and Power Fists.
The Emperor had modified the Terminator Armour so that it could expand to fit Axis's height, much like a Combat Suit. If Axis underwent that special transformation, his body would grow enormously.
Axis liked wearing a Combat Suit, but in the extreme environments of the Warhammer World—with radiation, cosmic rays, and all kinds of viruses—it was far too dangerous to wear one outside. His life mattered more!
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