You can all come at me together."
That sounds rather arrogant.
Perhaps, the psionic mentors present could all recognize from the battle reports sent back from the front lines that Gu Hang possessed strength far exceeding that of an S-class psionicist.
After all, many of them were S-level psychic users, and they couldn't do what Gu Hang had done, so the comparison was quite straightforward.
But... what does "all at once" even mean?
At Dou Zhao's request, most members of the mentor committee participated in this exchange meeting, except for those who were too far away to make it back.
All nine mentors are at least S-level in strength.
The committee members, numbering just over two hundred, possessed at least the strength of an A-level psychic. Among them, seven had reached S-level, placing them on par with the Grand Mentors; they were only one position away from promotion.
Among the 16 S-level psionicists, there are also S+ level individuals such as Dou Zhao, Margaret, and Ni Xun.
Although S+ is not an officially defined psychic level, it clearly refers to those who are a level above the regular S-rank psychics.
Led by this group of people, plus two hundred A-level and A+ level psionicists, Gu Hang said he would fight against them all by himself?
Even Alpha-level psionicists would perish on the spot.
In fact, many of them have experience dealing with Alpha-level psionics.
Alpha-level psionic energy is considered impossible for humans to control stably, but that doesn't mean humans can't possess it. In fact, there are always some lucky ones, or rather, unlucky ones, who are especially favored by the warp. They act like a funnel, completely connecting the real universe and the warp, with the fierce warp energy manifesting in their bodies as psionic energy.
Their growth rate, after demonstrating their talent, is extremely fast, far exceeding the range of normal psionicists. Initially, psionic energy is under the control of these exceptionally gifted individuals, and their immense power allows them to do as they please. However, as time goes on, the power they wield becomes increasingly formidable, requiring them to unleash it, or they will explode and die.
During this phase, the rampant psychic power damages the psionicist's soul; the warp chaos corruption that accompanies the psychic power heals the damage to the soul, rapidly distorting and reversing the psionicist's personality, ultimately turning him into a demon constantly connected to the warp.
The entire process is irreversible.
The Psionic Academy once attempted to control this power. They used technology to suppress the intensity of psionic energy; and through education, they strengthened the control of psionic abilities among Alpha gifted individuals.
However, these measures can only be effective temporarily. As time goes by, the infinitely expanding psionic power within the Alpha Psionicist will eventually destroy all suppressive devices, devour the psionicist, and turn him into a walking warp monster. At the same time, it will form a passage connecting the real universe and the warp, and the demons that have long been aware of this will take this opportunity to swarm into the real universe.
The Empire has experienced many such psionic disasters. If it evolves into the worst-case scenario, it often means the destruction of a world.
Therefore, the persecution of psionicists continues unabated in various human worlds, precisely because of this fear.
One wrong move and the world is destroyed.
Moreover, they are destroyed incredibly quickly. Alpha-level psionicists, leading a horde of demons, can rapidly sweep across the globe. In most cases, even official Imperial aid cannot withstand the attacks from the planet's own defenses.
Early identification of Alpha-level psionicists is extremely important. The emergence of a psionic genius has a very low probability of being an Alpha-level psionicist. The stronger the talent, the greater the potential for harm, and the more necessary early intervention—that is, elimination before they fully develop.
Those who lack discernment simply persecute and kill all those with psychic abilities.
But there are always times when intervention is too late, before it escalates into a global catastrophe. Often, in such cases, a joint effort between the spiritual order and the Inquisition is necessary.
Many of the experiences of dealing with Alpha-level psionicists were gained from such scenarios.
Despite the assistance of the Inquisition and the availability of numerous anti-psychic devices to attempt to reduce and control dangerous Alpha-level psychics, the core work is still carried out by top-tier psychics.
They had experienced it firsthand; the Alpha-class was indeed very powerful, even beyond their wildest imaginations.
However, it is still possible to deal with it using various methods.
Gu Hang is very strong, that's undeniable.
Even though he had a stable grasp of Alpha-level psychic power, and unlike how they had dealt with out-of-control Alpha-level psychics in the past, there was no aid from the Inquisition or suppression with various anti-psychic equipment. However, they had never before mobilized the entire Psionic Order to deal with an out-of-control Alpha-level psychic.
That's an exaggeration.
According to their assessment, the Alpha Psionicists were absolutely capable of fighting them.
In fact, with the strength of this group, they are fully capable of suppressing it.
Furthermore, some people believe that psionicists at the Alpha level and above are absolutely impossible for humans to control normally. This is a truth derived from both theoretical analysis and countless practical studies throughout history.
Gu Hang is nothing more than a slightly stronger S+ level psionicist.
His performance on the battlefield was exaggerated, partly because he was indeed strong enough; but partly, they suspected that the front lines had exaggerated the role of psionic energy and were exaggerating his achievements.
That's what Margaret thought.
In a one-on-one exchange, he, a strong S+ level or a truly stable Alpha-level psionicist, would be terrifyingly able to crush everyone in the Psionic Cult.
This was also what Margaret was worried about.
After all, they are a psionic order, not a purely administrative body. For selecting high-level instructors and grand instructors, strength is the most crucial factor. Without reaching S-rank, one can't even pass the most basic threshold to become a grand instructor.
If Gu Hang truly displays his powerful spiritual abilities, the impact of Dou Zhao's previous blunders might be partially mitigated.
But now, should we go all in?
That would crush you to death!
What a great opportunity!
If we could get rid of Gu Hang, that would be the best outcome.
Margaret subtly channeled her psychic powers to convey this message to her close companions.
Although they are few in number, when they unite and act, it is entirely possible for them to channel the spiritual power of everyone and cause some irreparable damage.
When she was delivering the message, Margaret felt Gu Hang glance in her direction.
Her heart skipped a beat: Had they been discovered?
But upon closer inspection, seeing Gu Hang still smiling and chatting with Dou Zhao and Ni Xun, I realized I had been being a bit too sensitive.
Her psychic communication with others should be very secretive; how could it be so easily detected?
Meanwhile, Gu Hang's conversation with Dou Zhao had also ended.
Dou Zhao was somewhat reluctant, but ultimately agreed to Gu Hang's request.
Let's all go together then.
Hopefully, we won't lose too badly.
...
Gu Hang looked at the psionicists in front of him with admiration. They stood in a square formation, and a powerful force rose up.
The spiritualist order has a fairly strong foundation.
The combined power of this group of high-level psionicists is quite formidable.
but...
"I still haven't tried hard enough," Gu Hang sighed softly.
The way for dozens or even hundreds of psychics to unleash their full potential is to link their psychic powers together according to specific rules, forming a combined force.
Those in the psychic order could not possibly be unaware of this.
But they didn't do that at the time.
Perhaps they felt it was unnecessary, thinking that having enough people in the computer room was enough to defeat Gu Hang?
Gu Hang felt it was necessary to make them truly recognize the gap between them.
"I'm about to begin, please pay attention."
He offered a reminder.
Then, after a brief pause, seeing that all the psionicists on the other side had further increased their power and were ready, Gu Hang made his move.
Without any frills, terrifying spiritual power surged forth from Gu Hang in an instant. Using the most basic force field spiritual energy, the power was evenly distributed among every spiritualist in the spiritual energy cultivation association.
Alpha-level psychic power was displayed to its fullest extent in that instant.
Even with a completely equal distribution, the A-level psychics, who made up the vast majority of the population, instantly felt a tight sense of constraint.
They were horrified!
This is just the most basic force field psionic energy!
Each of them was protected by a psionic shield, but under the high pressure, the shields were as fragile as paper, holding out for only a few breaths. Realizing their shields were being rapidly depleted, each of them immediately poured more energy into maintaining them, but it was to little avail; they could only hold them for a few seconds longer than three to five, and then seven or eight, before the shields were finally crushed.
Immediately afterwards, they felt their bodies completely enveloped by a force field.
Many people turned pale, thinking they were doomed: in this state, if Gu Hang wanted to, he could crush them with just a little force. Once psychics lose the protection of their psychic energy, their fragile bodies are not much different from ordinary people.
Of course, Gu Hang would not do that.
At this moment, he displayed a remarkably high level of psychic control. Those who were controlled felt as if they were nestled in a soft sponge; as long as they didn't struggle too much, they would be in no danger. However, if they tried to exert even a little force, the restraints would tighten.
This situation is astonishing: such sophisticated control methods are much more difficult than simply strangling a person to death.
Some were still unconvinced, arguing that being controlled was already a failure, and their survival was only due to "communication," not a life-or-death struggle. But if that's the case, isn't there still a chance?
They attempted to redeploy resources and rebuild their overall defenses.
But at times like these, Gu Hang would be a little less polite.
The moment someone has this thought and tries to put it into action, an immense sense of fear surges from within. In an instant, they feel as if their heart is being gripped tightly by a force, instantly losing all courage and becoming utterly unable to resist.
Once the thought fades, the fear also subsides.
Once the mentors calmed down, with their abundant psychic knowledge, they could fully recognize that this was a highly advanced application of psychic abilities.
Many of them could do it, and were capable of doing it. But how could they simultaneously break through the psychological defenses of two hundred A-level or higher psychic abilities and achieve control?
That's utterly absurd.
The A-level psionicists were essentially killed in an instant.
The remaining sixteen S-rank and even S+ rank psionicists wouldn't be instantly killed. However, with their bodies protected by psionic energy, they could only be considered to be struggling to hold on.
Margaret was the most shocked.
After personally experiencing the difference in power, she instantly abandoned her rather naive idea from the past.
Is it impossible for anyone to control Alpha-level psionic energy?
What is this if not Alpha-level psionic energy?
Objectively speaking, the psychic energy intensity that Gu Hang displayed has exceeded that of the regular Alpha-level psychics they have dealt with, but not by a large margin.
The reason they were able to handle it with fewer people before was mainly due to the difference in 'control'.
At the Alpha level, psionicists lose control of their power. Psionic energy leaks out in a chaotic and unrestrained manner, its effects largely independent of the psionicist's intentions. The destructive effects are determined solely by the characteristics of the subspace energy transmitted into the real universe. In fact, at this level, psionicists typically lose all capacity for thought.
However, if such power can be consciously controlled and utilized, the resulting effect will far exceed that of the disordered release of psionic energy.
It's impossible to fight back, there's simply no way to fight back.
This was the only thought in Margaret's mind.
It took all her energy to barely hold on and prevent the force field energy from tearing her defenses apart.
To assassinate Gu Hang?
Stop joking.
If they don't even have the ability to resist, what's the point of talking about assassination?
Soon, their ability to resist disappeared.
When those A-level psionicists lost their ability to resist, allowing Gu Hang to take action, or perhaps when he simply became more serious, the sudden increase in psionic power rendered Margaret's protective gear ineffective.
Not only her, but other S-class or S+ class psionicists were also crushed within a second or two.
In the end, more than two hundred of the empire's top psionicists were floating about a meter off the ground, completely unable to move.
If this is a life-or-death struggle, then the Psionic Order can declare its complete annihilation.
The entire process will take no more than thirty seconds.
Is this what a controllable Alpha-level psionicist is like?
That's terrifying.