"[Please] surrender without a fight."

The unfurled butterfly wings were immense and brilliant.

Shifting from a cool, pale blue-green to a scorching, fiery red, the wings inherited from "Mitra" bloomed with a mysterious and alluring light.

A voice, devoid of sorrow or joy, instantly resounded in the Emperor's mind!

Artificial Honkai Eruption.

This was a taboo for the Fusion Warriors, but it was also a power that brought about a qualitative change.

Even the "weakest" Fusion Warrior, upon entering the Eruption State, could possess power comparable to a Judgement-class. To say nothing of Aponia—the future "Third" of the Flame-Chasers was certainly not famous for nothing.

The genes of human and Honkai Beast had completely merged into one.

Exhibiting her "Mitra" form, the influence of Aponia's "Discipline" was several times stronger than before!

On the Emperor's crown.

The white light symbolizing the "Authority of Sentience" shone like the sun.

With Lu Xing's mental world as the battlefield, two wills clashed in a frenzy!

The confrontation was a stalemate!

But this could absolutely not continue!

A one-on-one duel would have been fine, but surrounded by opponents watching like tigers, if all his mental power was tied down by Aponia, he would inevitably fall to a disadvantage against the other Fusion Warriors!

Therefore.

Deng!

In that instant.

Lu Xing ceased his mental resistance, allowing Aponia's "Discipline" to spread and entwine itself within his mental world!

Simultaneously.

His now-free mental power surged back along the path "Discipline" had taken, flooding madly towards Aponia's own mental world!

He would use her own trick against her.

If he had appeared in his human form, as an Imaginary Emperor not proficient in mental attacks, he truly would have had no way to crush Aponia on the level of consciousness.

However, since she had voluntarily entered her Eruption State...

Swoosh!

A blazing white light, not originating from Aponia, flashed ceaselessly on the "Mitra" wings!

Aponia, wielding "Yudu Chen."

In her Eruption State, her combat power on a mental level was likely even stronger than the Herrscher of Sentience. If judged as a true "Honkai Beast," most Herrschers would not be qualified to control such a creature as a "symbiotic beast."

The Emperor was different.

All Honkai Beasts with strength beneath his own...

Krak!

A dazzling white light continuously condensed in Aponia's mind, gradually forming into the shape of a profound and ancient key.

That's right.

This was the "Emperor's" method of adding subjects to his legion.

The Honkai Beasts he usually encountered were far too weak; a gentle swipe was all it took to leave a brand on them.

But facing a being of Aponia's (Mitra's) caliber...

Combined with the power of [Thought Interference], Lu Xing revealed the true form of his "Emperor's Authority" for the first time!

The Emperor's body was temporarily immobilized by "Discipline."

But to achieve this, Aponia had focused all her mental energy within Lu Xing's mental world.

In other words.

Her own mental world was now in a completely defenseless state!

Towards the depths of her sea of consciousness...

"Honkai Beast."

The keystone formed of mental energy became a streak of light, plunging directly into the gloomy abyss!

"Submit to me!"

Swoosh—

Pop!!!

Thud.

The Emperor barely managed to stop himself from staggering.

By detonating a portion of his mental energy to force Aponia back on the defensive, Lu Xing successfully severed the influence "Discipline" had on his body.

However...

In this mental confrontation, he was the one who had truly suffered a loss.

Aponia dared to forsake her defenses and pour all her mental energy into "Discipline" precisely because of the trap she had left in the depths of her sea of consciousness.

No.

To be precise, it was a trap Su had left in the depths of her sea of consciousness.

[Karma Cycle]

In the physical world, this skill required Su to take a hit first before returning it. But in the mental realm, not only was the multiplied return power of [Karma Cycle] a factor, but more importantly, it could absorb an attack without taking any damage and reflect it entirely back at the opponent.

Due to Elysia's influence.

The contingency Lu Xing had planted inside Su's body had been completely erased by Black Abyss White Flower, and thus he had lost the means to detect and break the Karma Cycle.

He had no choice.

To destroy this impending trap and force Aponia to withdraw "Discipline"—the more powerful the target, the longer the "casting time" required to maintain "Discipline" and ensure it wasn't broken. Lu Xing had to drive out all of Discipline's tendrils before they could fully integrate into his mental world!

Detonating his mental energy.

That became the most reliable choice at the moment.

The corresponding price was... the "Sentience" Authority on his crown had dimmed quite noticeably. Unfortunately, Cheche could not participate in a battle of this level. Relying on his own recovery speed, it would likely be very difficult to actively use the "Sentience" Authority to attack for the remainder of this fight, and he would have to be extremely careful even when defending with it.

Of course.

There was good news as well: although the Emperor was not skilled in mental combat, his energy reserves (both mental and Honkai) were far greater than those of the Fusion Warriors. While the Honkai Energy consumption was not small, his mental energy was mostly intact.

An explosion caused by mental energy of this magnitude.

Even if Aponia withstood it, she probably wouldn't be able to use "Discipline" at its previous intensity for a short while.

"In your dreams!"

It had seemed to last an eternity, but the mental clash between Lu Xing and Aponia had, in reality, taken less than half a second.

As for Aponia's objective...

The counterfeit Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng!

That's right!

Seizing the opportunity while the Emperor was entangled with Aponia, Su and Sakura had also completed their Artificial Eruption. Su, who had transformed into the great peacock "Mayuri," took the chance to activate the artificial God Key plunged into the ground!

His goal was simple and clear: send the critically injured and near-death Kevin back to the Flame-Chasers!

But!

How could Lu Xing, who had just been tricked by [Karma Cycle], possibly let him get his way!

Lu Xing wasn't entirely sure what method Dr. Mei had used to allow the artificial God Key to traverse space under the influence of the Eye of the Abyss. But regardless, having obtained the "Void" core, Lu Xing's mastery over spatial power was far beyond theirs!

The Eye of the Abyss certainly had some influence, but as long as Lu Xing willed it, nothing could open a door and escape right under his nose!

Swoosh!

Pillars of blackness appeared above Su and the artificial God Key respectively!

The newly condensed spatial energy, along with the distorting and fading spatial barrier, were all utterly shattered under the terrifying fist—

[Annihilation Iron Fist]

BOOM!!!

The [Counterfeit Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng] was instantly turned to ash!

Su didn't dare to face the blow head-on.

The giant peacock, with a sideways roll completely unbefitting its size, hurriedly dodged the direct hit from the [Annihilation Iron Fist].

He was immediately thrown over a hundred meters away by the shockwave from the ensuing elemental storm!

And this...

Was merely the curtain rising on the battle.