To see is to believe, regardless of noble or humble station.
On both sides of the wide riverbank, crowds knelt, continuously prostrating themselves towards the "Mother River."
Barefoot and plainly clad.
At this moment, Ange, suspended above the river's surface, had already become the embodiment of this river.
The authority of the Herrscher of Sentience was exceedingly convenient.
In a mere two weeks.
Ange had already established her status as a divine incarnation.
Compared to creating a new god, on this continent where faith was extremely prevalent, disguising herself as an existing deity was more convenient and direct—after polluting the very concept of "Faith," regardless of the original form of the religious deity worshipped, they would automatically transform into Ange's voice and appearance.
Or rather.
In the eyes of the believers, Ange would be "truly mentally projected" into the image of their god.
Using the Honkai Sickness as a medium, Ange had, with a speed faster than imagined, completely "corrupted" the city beneath her feet.
And all the humans who had been corrupted.
Aside from their abnormalities in faith, in all other aspects, they were no different from usual—even if outsiders could sense a disharmony, it would be very difficult to detect anything amiss through these subtle clues.
Until...
The beginning of this "festival."
Encompassing the entirety of "Heng He Li," the believers began the festivals of their respective religions as usual... No one even noticed why the various "sects," whose most important annual activities should have been staggered by a long time, were holding them on the same day.
An atmosphere of joy enveloped the entire city.
"Ange."
"Emperor."
Beside Ange, who stood quietly on the lake's surface, Lu Xing's figure slowly emerged from a portal.
Things had reached the most critical moment.
In the past few days, Lu Xing had eliminated many outsiders with malicious intent.
The dense fog shrouding the entire city had persisted for over ten days. This mist, laced with Honkai energy, greatly interfered with human long-range communication methods.
To trace the source of the problem.
Many organizations had specifically dispatched investigators—the situation had not yet escalated to the point of requiring The Flame-Chasers to mobilize, but surrounding major powers, especially Shenzhou, had already sent several batches of personnel here.
None had made it out alive.
The fog served as a means to spread the Honkai Sickness, and simultaneously, it acted as Lu Xing's eyes and ears through his released [Super Perception]. Most of those who came to investigate were ordinary people. Most of the time, Lu Xing didn't even need to act personally; simply using [Fission] to create an ordinary Ranger-class (Big Universe) and "delivering" it via portal was enough to resolve the trouble.
As the number of infected people increased daily.
The concentration of Honkai energy in the air... was already sufficient to match Lu Xing's consumption.
Lu Xing's recent departure.
Was to deal with an unexpected problem—a Big Universe avatar, dispatched due to sensing malicious intent, had vanished the very next second after being teleported.
Lu Xing had no choice but to personally intervene.
He completely annihilated the human and Armed Doll combination—this level of individual combat strength was no longer an "investigation" for an ordinary incident.
The Armed Doll merely represented the Mu Continent's involvement.
But that human soldier earlier, who used Honkai energy to power their weapon... was identical to the first humans Lu Xing had encountered in this world.
"We need to hurry."
"The Flame-Chasers will soon realize something is wrong here."
Lu Xing stated bluntly.
"The Flame-Chasers... Is that the organization you mentioned before, Emperor, the one specifically targeting us?"
Ange's voice became increasingly ethereal.
Because she had polluted too much faith—this process required a continuous drain of mental energy and also encountered minor "backlashes"—as these accumulated, she had now undergone a so-called "deification" from the inside out.
"That's right."
"The ritual must be completed before the Fusion Soldiers arrive."
"You know, the ones who could take down 'Senior,' dealing with us wouldn't be difficult... Even if you successfully awaken and fully master your authority, it would still be so."
"..."
"I understand."
"Gods" were not omniscient or omnipotent; they too could be killed.
This cruel fact.
Allowed Ange to successfully break free from that wondrous yet dangerous state—the light in the girl's eyes was still divinely resplendent, but it no longer carried the sense of detached aloofness one might feel seated high upon the clouds.
"Then..."
Ange extended her right hand towards Lu Xing.
Her soft palm and gently curved fingers were simultaneously supported by armor as dark as black jade.
With Ange's own abilities, she was not yet capable of "harvesting" faith on such a vast scale—she had to rely on the Honkai energy Lu Xing had spread, a HhHonkai energy that enveloped the entire city, to achieve it.
"Whoosh!"
Winds and waves began to stir.
Mental power as vast as the sky.
Honkai energy as tumultuous as the sea.
Both rose from the point of contact between Ange and Lu Xing's bodies. In the next second, monstrous waves surged from the great river, and a storm of reality and illusion swept through this city surrounded by the Mother River!
"Chiiii!!!"
————
"Plop."
If one were to gaze from afar.
The entire city showed not the slightest change.
But if one were to step into it at this moment, the terrifying silence was enough to send a chill down the spine of any living being.
Over ninety percent of the humans.
All of them were annihilated in this festival, their bodies and consciousness alike transformed entirely into the purest Honkai energy, surging towards the embrace of the Mother River.
Unfortunately...
Such devotion was entirely usurped by the one who had stolen the throne—
Above the river's surface.
The immense spiritual energy forged from the power of faith, along with the terrifying Honkai energy born from the power of life, surged into Ange's body without a single drop being wasted.
"Thrum!"
"Thrum!!"
"Thrum!!!"
The overflowing energy continuously burst outwards.
The humans from half the city were enough to complete the Herrscher Core.
Even Lu Xing could not completely absorb this excess energy—the greatest benefit of the Herrscher of Sentience's birth was that, much like when the Herrscher of Flame was born and he grasped a "small portion of authority," it shored up his own deficiencies in mental power. Simultaneously, Lu Xing also anticipated that the higher-level power from a Herrscher could help him achieve a further step in evolution.
The companion Honkai Beast of the Eighth Herrscher · Herrscher of Sentience—Lu Xing wasn't entirely against accepting this identity.
The former indeed succeeded.
Immense mental power, flowing from the point of contact between Ange and his body, continuously poured into Lu Xing's Honkai Crystal—beside the almost black, dark purple "∞" mark, on another face of the perfect cube, a dazzling white light engraved an "eye" mark, symbolizing mental power.
Although faint.
This was indeed the third portion of Herrscher authority Lu Xing had mastered.
However, the latter...
Due to the birth of the Herrscher of Sentience, Lu Xing had indeed gained immense mental power from it, but he did not, as he had anticipated, become the companion Honkai Beast of the Eighth Herrscher.
The true companion beast...
A flying silhouette slowly emerged within the Honkai energy storm.
A golden-green figure, possessing the aura of both Ange (spirit) and Lu Xing (power), gradually materialized from the ethereal into solid form—
Predominantly gold, it shimmered with iridescent light.
Tail feathers, magnificent as a lotus blossom, unfurled in the air; four wings beat slowly at its sides. Upon its slender neck, plumage resembling a crown drifted in the wind.
The companion Honkai Beast of the Eighth Herrscher · Herrscher of Sentience, a Peacock-type Emperor-class Honkai Beast that descended here along with the Herrscher's will:
Moyuli!