"Old friend."
Blazing golden flames ignited from every part of Odin's body.
His proud wings gradually transformed from a radiant gold that carried the light of ten thousand sunsets into a clear, transparent nothingness.
Within his majestic body.
The contained light of blue, red, and gold flashed continuously.
"In the end..."
"We still made the same choice."
No one knew for whom Odin mourned. It was a memory that belonged solely to Him, a memory from an entire civilization, an entire era, more precious than any treasure.
"Crack—"
The crisp sound of a crystal burning and cracking echoed from the center of the tri-colored light.
"SNAP!!!"
Along with the complete disintegration of his Honkai Core.
A torrent of golden, particle-like Honkai energy, like a rising flame, surged from Odin towards Lu Xing, bringing the three Herrscher Cores with it!
"Thud!"
The purest golden Honkai energy, the moment it neared Lu Xing, was devoured like a whale swallowing water by the Honkai Crystal deep within his body.
His energy reserves, which had just barely crossed the safety line, were instantly "pushed" to their absolute limit by the Honkai energy from Odin!
"Holder detected fusing with 'Herrscher Core'."
"Based on the Herrscher Core's type, you have unlocked the new skill [Atmospheric Modification]. Your skill [Fluid Creation] has advanced to [Perfect Fluid]."
"Based on the Herrscher Core's type, you have unlocked the new skill [Chains of Heaven's Hope]. You have unlocked the new skill [Divine Grace Barrier]."
[Chains of Heaven's Hope: Slows the flow of energy within a target. The effect and duration are determined by the energy level difference between both parties.]
[Divine Grace Barrier: Strips all energy within the barrier's range, converting it into Honkai energy for your own use. Allows the stripped energy to be provided to 'linked' individuals. This ability cannot be used when Honkai energy is full.]
In a brief instant.
As Lu Xing's Honkai energy rapidly filled, system prompts, triggered by the fusion of the three Herrscher Cores, sounded off one after another in his spiritual world.
The engravings of "Wind" and "Flame" grew even more brilliant.
And on the newest face of the Honkai Crystal, the "chain" engraving representing "Binding" began to emerge!
This was...
A true Eight-Core Emperor!
But it was far from over!
The tide of Honkai energy formed from Odin's self-immolation was enough to fill Lu Xing's reserves several times over. The level of a mere "lower-tier Honkai Beast" could no longer satisfy Lu Xing's needs.
He would...
Without the system's assistance, forcibly step into the domain of a high-tier Honkai Beast!
"Swish!"
The crimson-red [Shenhuo] appeared in Lu Xing's hand.
Along with it was the already assembled [Core Aggregate], which was only missing its final piece.
The Link Core, Transformation Core, Modification Core, and the [Quantum Energy Usage License]—the four corners of the puzzle and its core were now all gathered!
"Let me see..."
"When combined, are you truly as powerful as I imagined!"
"Crack—"
The fusion of the final puzzle piece was not smooth.
The overly straight edges made [Shenhuo] and the [Core Aggregate] seem somewhat incompatible. As Lu Xing brought them together, colorful bolts of electricity began to arc wildly at the tetrahedron's gap.
But it didn't matter!
As the metallic surface of [Shenhuo] continuously melted, the part closest to the [Core Aggregate] gradually reshaped itself to perfectly match the opening in the aggregate.
"CLICK!!!"
A regular tetrahedron, radiating a silver glow, floated quietly in front of Lu Xing.
The next moment—
"Thrum!!!"
The stream of light entered his body!
"Holder detected fusing with Herrscher Core."
"Based on the Herrscher Core's type, you have unlocked the new skill [Mind Steel Seal]. Your skill [Thought Interference] has advanced to [Mental Reshaping]."
"Based on the Herrscher Core's type, you have unlocked the new skill [Mimic Materialization]. You have unlocked the new skill [Light of Revelation]."
[Mind Steel Seal: Implants a 'concept' into a target's consciousness. The effect and duration are determined by the energy level difference between both parties.]
[Mental Reshaping: Modifies a soul without exceeding its tolerance threshold. Note: The use of this ability requires specific conditions to be met.]
[Mimic Materialization: Creates energy constructs of things within the scope of understanding.]
[Light of Revelation: Grants super-accelerated observation and analysis of things beyond comprehension.]
Eight cores?
No. As the "eye" symbol on one of the Honkai Crystal's faces flashed brilliantly, Lu Xing not only obtained new mental-type skills, but a new symbol also slowly emerged on the ninth face of the Honkai Crystal.
It was a book-shaped pattern, symbolizing "Reason."
The moment this [Core Aggregate] merged into his body, Lu Xing's perception began to undergo a world-shaking change.
It wasn't optical imaging, nor elemental vision, nor was it the perception of auras.
He sensed a higher-level, more vast energy, an energy that bore many similarities to Honkai energy.
That's right.
Before Honkai energy manifested within a "leaf of the Tree," its more primordial state of existence was:
Imaginary Energy!
Lu Xing sensed the existence of Imaginary Energy.
At the same time, a blurry outline of the "Imaginary Tree," the bearer of all civilizations, appeared in his mind.
Not only that.
Beyond Imaginary Energy, Lu Xing also saw an even more expansive world:
The boundless Quantum Sea, and the World Bubbles that rose and fell within it.
The [Shenhuo] and the [Quantum Energy Usage License], which had merged into his body along with the cores, granted Lu Xing a field of vision far beyond the ordinary.
Combined with the power of nine Herrscher Cores...
No, it still wasn't enough.
"Xiao Zi!"
"Do you need my help?"
Although her tone was that of a question, Xiao Zi did not wait for Lu Xing's reply. The moment he called her name, she had already ejected her Herrscher Core from her body!
A Hybrid Honkai Beast has two cores.
Even if one is lost, their strength will only decrease, not lead to immediate death. The Core of Death, separated from her Honkai Core, was thrown directly to Lu Xing by Xiao Zi!
"Thanks."
As the Core of Death transformed into a stream of light and merged with the Honkai Crystal, a flower-bud-shaped pattern representing "Creation and Withering" appeared on the tenth face of the crystal.
With this, the power of ten cores!
"VMMMM!!!"
Within the golden mist that was once Odin.
A "mini World Bubble" that enveloped Lu Xing and all the Hybrid Honkai Beasts slowly came into being from the void. The power of ten fused authorities firmly protected the final traces of this civilization.
"Just a little more."
This current power was already sufficient to escape from the World Bubble.
However, the problem of needing to use "upper-layer World Bubbles" as stepping stones had not been resolved. In other World Bubbles, as invaders, they had no idea what kind of civilizations they might encounter.
To avoid unnecessary trouble.
Lu Xing had... a once-and-for-all idea!