"A long-missed aura."
A gentle voice slowly drifted out.
Before the Emperor could make a statement, Xiao Zi, floating beside him, had already spoken first.
At this moment, even her two followers, who had remained silent just behind her, showed extremely distinct spiritual fluctuations.
To Lu Xing, this had been but a "trip" of a few days. But for Xiao Zi and her two followers, it was their first "homecoming" after a century. Having stayed in the World Bubble for so long, especially the followers who had awakened within it, they had almost forgotten what "home" even looked like.
"Welcome back."
"And..."
Lu Xing, standing at the forefront of the Hybrid Honkai Beasts, slowly turned his oppressively powerful form.
"According to the 'contract' between myself and Odin."
"Hybrids—no, Mechanical Species—this is now your new home."
Xiao Zi had broken the silence.
A silence that had stemmed from the Emperor's long pause.
Lu Xing had originally prepared a considerable mobilization speech. After all, public speaking was not his forte. At the very least, placating these Hybrids with words and ensuring their complete integration with the legions was the most sensible choice.
But upon his return to this world, the "knowledge" that had suddenly been "poured" into Lu Xing's mind had shattered his initial plan.
Hmm...
It was less knowledge and more a form of explicit instruction: concerning the definition of a civilization.
Lu Xing's act of destroying the World Bubble was considered the destruction of a civilization. And the Hybrid Honkai Beasts he brought back to this world were endowed with a brand-new attribute:
From the moment they appeared.
They were "acknowledged" as part of this world's civilization. That's right. Humans and Hybrids, and even the Honkai Beast legions by the Emperor's side, were all regarded as part of the same civilization.
Lu Xing didn't know how the definition of "civilization" was made.
But it was clear that this was inextricably linked to his act of taking the Hybrids from the World Bubble, as well as his own advancement to a "high-tier Honkai Beast."
"Emperor."
As the "ribbon" behind him symbolizing space lit up, Lu Xing and the Hybrids' figures appeared directly in the center of the Antarctic continent in the next instant.
"Emperor."
"Emperor."
First were the Four War Temples, then the Emperor-class, and finally, the death-knight squads—all who belonged to the legion bowed low to their Emperor.
Even though his form and energy level had changed drastically, the Four War Temples, linked to the Emperor by his authorities, were still the first to recognize his aura.
Cheche was in a deep slumber. In order to conserve more energy for the rest of the legion (since there was only one medium-sized rift), Cheche would not awaken unless it was a critical moment.
Sheshe, who was in charge of leading the legion, was a bit slower.
It wasn't because her reverence for the Emperor had diminished, but simply because her mind hadn't caught up yet. The Emperor had been swallowed by a black hole and fallen into the Quantum Sea, yet not only had he not been weakened, he had instead been elevated once more to a level... she could no longer comprehend.
Sheshe had never doubted the Emperor's strategies, but now, even the speed of his power progression had become unbelievably fast.
Sheshe had reason to suspect.
The Emperor standing in the center of the legion could probably kill her with just the "wind from his palm" with a casual slap.
As for the death-knight squads.
Even the Loli Demon God, who prided herself on understanding the Emperor relatively well, could not believe that the behemoth before her was the same being as the previous Emperor.
However.
Thinking back to the Emperor who was once just a Big Universe.
He seemed to have evolved to the state he was in at their "reunion" in just two short years... The scene before her now seemed less worthy of surprise.
"The legion has some new partners."
"And..."
"An old friend that even Sheshe should address as 'senior'."
A sudden "sense of crisis" made Sheshe naturally notice Xiao Zi, who was following closely by the Emperor's side. Her innate serpentine abilities made Sheshe feel that her position as the legion's "number two" was likely in jeopardy... Perhaps she should hurry and wake Cheche up. After all, over there, even the "number one" position might be shaken.
"Get to know each other."
"After all, from now on, you will be partners fighting side-by-side, and... pioneers of a new civilization."
A new civilization.
In Lu Xing's eyes, the legion's information fed back through [Analysis] had already undergone a cataclysmic change. These changes were not in their attributes, but in their prefixes.
The prefix "Legion-type" had disappeared from the "Race" of all lower-tier Honkai Beasts, including the Four War Temples.
Taking the War Temple as an example, its name was now:
[Native Species · War Temple]
And the Hybrids Lu Xing had brought to this world had also had their names changed. Taking the Hybrid Chariot-class as an example:
[Mechanical Species · Alloy Chariot Beast]
That's right. The prefixes for Honkai Beasts had been greatly shortened. Descriptions of Variants and "special attributes" had all been integrated (or pruned) into simple names.
And it wasn't just the Honkai Beasts.
Even the names of the death-knight squad members had changed simultaneously:
[Civilization Species · Annihilation Demon God]
The previously extremely detailed classifications had been consolidated into new, broader categories, no longer distinguished by "minor items" like attributes or states.
And such a seemingly general classification... was what a civilization should look like.
"I almost forgot."
Lu Xing was so focused on studying these new changes that he almost got the priority of important matters backward.
Whether it was the original legion or the newly arrived Mechanical Species, they were all in a state of starvation, in desperate need of sufficient Honkai energy.
Therefore—
"VMM!!!"
With a casual wave of his hand.
Four large Honkai energy rifts appeared out of thin air!
For the Emperor of today, casually creating large Honkai energy rifts was something done with ease. Lu Xing, who could now see the outline of the "Tree," and was free from the restraints and suppression of the Quantum Sea, could rely on his own link to the Imaginary Space to easily communicate with it and "guide" a large Honkai energy rift to any location he desired!
Of course.
This was also because the current world was "unusually" close to the "trunk of the Tree"—a new discovery Lu Xing made after advancing to the "Dharma-Ending-class."
However.
The replenishment speed of a large Honkai energy rift was now but a drop in the bucket for his main body.
The Honkai energy supplied by [Imaginary Link]... was equivalent to carrying a giant Honkai energy rift with him at all times!