[Retainers]
Unlike the previous legion.
In Lu Xing's spiritual world now, the coordinates of every single Honkai Beast on the planet were included. Regardless of whether they had previously belonged to his legion, from the moment the Emperor returned to this world, they were all under Lu Xing's control.
Among them.
Unlike the ordinary Honkai Beasts, a portion of them, appearing as "light blue" points of light, were marked in his spiritual world as members of the [Retainers].
Xiao Zi, Cheche, Sheshe, the Four War Temples, the Great Crab, the Great Whale, Pontos.
Currently, only these ten members could be called [Retainers]. The classification was clearly not based on strength; otherwise, the two followers with Xiao Zi should also have been classified among the [Retainers].
"Faith" or "trust"?
Lu Xing wasn't sure what the criteria were. In any case, since they had been categorized within the scope of [Retainers], it meant they were beings that Lu Xing could fundamentally trust.
In that case—
"Swish!!"
A golden storm rose and swirled around the Emperor.
The ribbons symbolizing his authorities lit up in sequence, and a twelve-colored stream of light surged towards the gradually brightening [Divine Halo].
The power Lu Xing could share was far more than just Honkai energy.
Herrscher Authorities!
Lu Xing had deep insights into the study of authorities. Even if he had directly obtained the corresponding skills through the system, to fully unleash the effects of these skills, knowledge was an extremely important component in addition to proficiency.
With Lu Xing's knowledge reserves and thinking ability, even with the assistance of [Light of Revelation], he would still need a great deal of time to gradually understand the principles of these powers.
Sharing Honkai energy could temporarily raise the upper limits of the Honkai Beasts. Not only could it increase their combat power in real-time, but it could also allow them to experience the power of that tier sooner, thus completing their evolution faster. As the Honkai Beasts became part of the civilization, although not as exaggerated as the Dharma-Ending-class, the obstacles to evolution had clearly vanished from them... at least from the Honkai Beasts on this planet that had already "awakened."
But authorities were different.
If they were part of a civilization, then Lu Xing did not want them to become beings who only knew how to use their authorities for destruction. He wanted them to be able to understand their essence. Although Lu Xing himself had not yet achieved this, it at least represented the "Emperor's hope."
Therefore.
The type of authority Lu Xing bestowed upon his [Retainers] this time... was rather singular.
As the mist condensed from golden light particles surged towards the [Retainers]—
Name: Primordial Species · Rock Tortoise
Level: 71
Other: Omitted
Lu Xing gave the [Authority of Rock] to Pontos.
Pontos, whose strength was already at the peak of the Emperor-class, directly used the Emperor's power to leap into the realm of the Judgement-class. And his name, or rather his species, also advanced from [Native Species] to [Primordial Species].
A deep brown light flowed over his tortoise shell.
As the bestowed authority was gradually enhanced, Pontos's already 200-meter-plus form began to expand once more... no, it was a process of expanding and then contracting.
After a short 20-odd seconds.
Pontos, whose maximum size had reached nearly a kilometer, forcibly compressed his inflated body back down to a length of about 170 meters.
At the same time.
His original huge, thick body was now covered in a layer of heavy, brown rock armor under the blessing of the power of "Rock." Furthermore, sharp edges, as translucent as amber, slowly grew from the seams of the rock armor.
Name: Primordial Species · White Whale
Level: 70
Other: Omitted
Lu Xing gave the [Authority of Sentience] to the Great Whale.
His change was not as obvious as Pontos's. Aside from his fins becoming so slender that they unfurled slowly like wings, the Great Whale's original, somewhat bloated body (used to accommodate the Spicula-class) also became more streamlined.
The most distinct feature.
Was the metallic, white-gold spiral horn that grew from the top of its head.
As the most intelligent among the "wild Honkai Beasts" recruited by the legion, giving the Authority of Sentience to the Great Whale was a relatively reliable choice. Relying on this authority, the Great Whale could better control and mobilize its "carrier" fleet.
However.
Due to the limitations of his own level, although the Great Whale had also advanced to [Primordial Species], he did not obtain the combat power of a Judgement-class.
Name: Primordial Species · Death Pincer
Level: 71
Other: Omitted
Lu Xing gave the [Authority of Death] to the Great Crab.
There was no particular reason for this, other than the fact that this fellow was simply too afraid of death. Sharing this authority with the Great Crab was, by all accounts, a well-deserved honor. Now, as long as he wasn't blasted into smithereens, the Great Crab could piece himself back together without Lu Xing needing to intervene.
What Lu Xing hadn't expected was that the Great Crab, whose combat power was on par with the White Whale, had also stepped into the realm of the Judgement-class.
It should be said...
As expected of the most "outstanding" fellow in the legion.
And unlike the Rock Tortoise and the White Whale.
After the Great Crab completed his advancement, aside from his body becoming more ferocious—the Great Crab already had dual pincers different from an ordinary Tide-class, and after advancing, he had even changed from a "crawling" state to an "upright" floating one, with all his limbs now usable as weapons, bearing some resemblance to a quantum lobster like "Tonatiuh"—his entire body had also completely changed to a black and gold color scheme.
That's right.
It was the same change that had happened to Sheshe after her contact with the Emperor:
A black, crystal-like shell, paired with deep golden patterns. In a sense, the Great Crab, being able to transform into this state, must have held extreme respect and admiration for the Emperor... in terms of self-preservation.
Name: Primordial Species · War Temple
Level: 71
Other: Omitted
Name: Primordial Species · Famine Temple
Level: 71
Other: Omitted
Name: Primordial Species · Plague Temple
Level: 71
Other: Omitted
Name: Primordial Species · Death Temple
Level: 71
Other: Omitted
The Four War Temples.
They were bestowed with the [Authority of Flame], [Authority of Ice], [Authority of Wind], and [Authority of Binding], respectively.
Although the change in their name was only a single word, in reality, the Four War Temples' transformation was the greatest among all the [Retainers]—
That's right.
As the Emperor's absolute confidants.
The Four War Temples' advancement to Judgement-class did not follow the "Black Temple-Black Emperor" route that Lu Xing had once walked. Instead, in a completely unexpected turn of events...
They all became humanoid!
Translator's Note: A narrative clue is provided here that is lost in English. The Chinese pronoun for "they" used by the author is 她们 (tāmen), which specifically denotes a female group.
...the Four War Temples' transformation was the greatest among all the [Retainers]—a fact that could be gleaned from the very pronoun used to describe them, 她们 (tāmen), a form of 'they' reserved exclusively for females.