With a flash of golden light, Guilliman returned to human size—truly human, around two meters tall like Rhodes, not his previous 3.6 meters.
"How do you feel? You seem different," Rhodes asked, walking up.
Guilliman gave Rhodes a special feeling. Before, Rhodes could sense Guilliman's strength and could easily knock him down with his monster body and Bull-Crushing Fist.
But now, Guilliman gave off an ethereal, flawless aura—Rhodes even felt a sense of danger, certain that Guilliman could easily beat him.
Rhodes was still far from a super-lifeform—his soul and body weren't at that level.
But Guilliman was now a fully integrated super-being.
The biggest change: Guilliman could now freely control his size—no need to stay giant; he could be normal human size, 60 meters tall, or his original Primarch height.
"Excellent—better than ever. From my birth until now, only today have I truly become myself.
I've regained my true strength—no, with Xuanwu, I'm even stronger," Guilliman smiled at Rhodes.
Indeed, not only was he unified in soul and body, but he'd gained Xuanwu's power, and both could grow together.
He was now the perfect Primarch, bar none.
Horus had fused with the Dark Giant Daram, but Daram's body wasn't Horus's.
After fusion, Horus was resurrected and could become a giant, but his soul wasn't restored—half had been destroyed by the Emperor.
But Guilliman, after ten thousand years of sleep, had not only maintained but strengthened his soul. Now, with a body to match, he was a perfect Primarch.
Their bodies were made by the Emperor with peak human biotech, plus his own and Eldar genes, but still didn't match the soul of a minor god.
But now, thanks to the Beast's energy, Guilliman had ascended—truly united in soul and body.
In the Warhammer universe, reaching a super-lifeform physically granted tens of thousands or millions of years of life; but only with a matching soul could one achieve immortality.
As for ultimate lifeforms, those were unique in the multiverse—the Chaos Four was a kind of ultimate soul, though lacking matching bodies, so they couldn't walk the real universe; instead, they were bound to the Warp.
As long as the Warp existed, they were undying—even stronger than some ultimate lifeforms.
"Rhodes, try using your strongest attack on me. You'll see how tough my defense is," Guilliman said, summoning a golden shield.
"Alright, let's see how hard your turtle shell is now. Get ready!" Rhodes grinned, cracking his knuckles.
Summoning all his Beast energy, a giant red bull's head appeared on his chest, tinged with gold.
Rhodes realized the Bull-Crushing Fist could channel some of the Emperor's psychic energy, making it effective against daemons and boosting its power.
"Bull-Crushing Fist!"
Rhodes roared, launching a massive spectral bull at Guilliman.
Guilliman raised the Xuanwu shield, forming a golden barrier.
The red energy smashed into the shield but couldn't break it—Guilliman blocked it with ease.
"This shield's defense is impressive!" Rhodes nodded.
His full-power Bull-Crushing Fist could toss Horus and had previously overwhelmed Guilliman. But now, after fusing with Xuanwu, Guilliman blocked it easily.
"Of course, the Xuanwu shield is tough—but that's not all, Rhodes! Xuanwu's power isn't limited to this.
Cosmic Phantom Beast Fist—Xuanwu Shield Counter!" Guilliman grinned as the shield glowed, rebounding Rhodes's attack.
"Damn! You can do that?!"
Rhodes hurriedly used Bemstar's energy absorption to take in the rebounded force, which was now even stronger with Xuanwu's power.
"Again! Berserk mode!" Rhodes' eyes turned crimson, his body steaming red, activating Gomora's berserk mode and Red King's brute strength.
He charged, hammering Guilliman's shield with both fists, the impacts sending out shockwaves. Even Elena had to retreat from the force.
Rhodes' fists ached, but he still couldn't break the shell.
"Take this—Super Shockwave!"
Rhodes stepped back, charging golden-red energy in his chest, then fired a devastating energy wave at Guilliman.
This was his big move, far stronger than the Bull-Crushing Fist, focused on maximum destruction.
"Cosmic Phantom Beast Fist—Cosmic Energy Barrier!" This time, Guilliman used another Xuanwu move—a golden energy shield, not Warp energy but cosmic energy.
The super shockwave struck the barrier, shaking the ground beneath Guilliman, but the shield only rippled like water—it didn't break.
Rhodes' full-power attack was stopped cold.
"You are a turtle now! If I can't break your shell with these moves, I'm out of options," Rhodes said.
Unless he donned the Zetton armor, using a hundred-megaton fireball beam and a super shockwave, maybe he could break it.
But this was just sparring, not a death match—no need for Zetton armor.
The Xuanwu was the most defensive Beast—perfect for Old Thirteen, Guilliman.
"There's also an attack skill, but compared to defense, Xuanwu's offense is only low-tier for a high-level Beast," Guilliman said.
He could only use half its power for now; to unleash its full might, he'd need to train more.
Looks like besides handling affairs, he'd need to spend a few hours every day practicing martial arts. Sometimes Calgar and Tigurius could help out; they'd done well in his absence.
"Already amazing. I bet you can use psychic powers now, too?" Rhodes guessed.
He was, after all, a fragment of a minor god from the Warp—a minor god himself.
Guilliman had been unable to use his psychic power before, but now with this body, he could freely wield Warp energy.
Who knew how strong his psychic powers were now? The top Imperial psyker was currently Mephiston of the Blood Angels, whose situation was similar to a Primarch: a mismatched, powerful soul but a weaker body.
Sanguinius had given Mephiston many blessings—he was now one of the most powerful Imperial psykers.