Ange's awakening required Honkai energy on the level of a Great Rift.

Although Lu Xing had inherited a portion of the Ice Emperor's spatial abilities, searching for the Great Rift Space remained an exceedingly difficult task for him. Lu Xing was ignorant of the principles behind the Great Rift Space's appearance; currently, he could only deduce two points, their accuracy uncertain:

The Great Rift would appear underground.

The Great Rift would appear before a Great Honkai Eruption (the birth of a Herrscher).

The latter condition had already been met.

However, the former… leveraging the enhancement from [Super Perception], Lu Xing's sensory capabilities on the surface were sufficient to detect everything within a 20-kilometer radius centered on himself.

But!

When attempting to probe underground, various interferences would flock towards him.

Lacking a coordinate anchor, Lu Xing's single-instance perception range was compressed to a mere 500 meters.

Unlike when Lu Xing emerged from the subterranean space, finding a specific, fixed target wasn't something achievable by simply "pig-rushing" upwards in one go. Lu Xing had to meticulously analyze all fluctuations within his perception range.

Therefore…

Finding a Great Rift was too troublesome; Lu Xing decisively chose to abandon the idea. Honkai energy of Great Rift-level didn't necessarily have to be replenished via a Great Rift.

As a Herrscher with psychic-type abilities, Ange's own combat capabilities weren't outstanding, but the tricks she could employ were indeed numerous, mostly manifesting in the domain of "consciousness interference."

The earlier scene of "devouring people" was an ability she had inadvertently discovered—a method to replenish Honkai energy consumption by "sacrificing" individuals who "believed" in her.

Of course, this was actually a weakened manifestation of the Eighth Herrscher's "Meme Pollution" ability:

The Herrscher of Sentience could pollute specific "words/concepts," causing any living organism that came into contact with said "word/concept" in any way to fall into a state desired by the Herrscher (the usual and most effective state being a coma).

The method Lu Xing conceived was:

Find a sufficient number of Honkai Sickness infectees (Honkai Sickness was currently experiencing an explosive surge worldwide; Lu Xing didn't even need to actively create them), have them develop faith in Ange within a short period (by having Ange use her abilities to pollute their faith and induce them to "sacrifice" themselves).

Once accomplished, directly consume them.

"Big Crab."

"Tide-class" was a bit of a mouthful to say and lacked sufficient distinctiveness.

Lu Xing, acting on his true inner thoughts, bestowed the official name "Big Crab" upon the legion's sole current Legion Leader.

"The land is not suitable for your activities."

"Return to the ocean. Gather more aquatic Honkai Beasts for the legion; they will be of great use in the future."

Keeping the Tide-class on the Australian continent would not aid Lu Xing's legion expansion plans. As a Variant, it could rally a considerable number of wild aquatic Honkai Beasts; returning it to the sea would be of greater benefit to the legion.

"Remember!"

"Do not proactively provoke humans."

"I have no desire to travel thousands of miles to rescue you again."

Simultaneously, to prevent Big Crab from stirring up trouble everywhere—compared to other Leaders and Variants Lu Xing had encountered, Big Crab was indeed a bit too "clever"—Lu Xing offered a reminder before its departure:

"If such a thing truly happens,"

"One of your pincers might need to be broken off for Shesha to have a taste."

After settling matters with Big Crab—

"War."

The Magic Knight, stained with dark crimson blood, slowly stepped forward.

"Assemble the legion."

"In the time to come, I need you to scout and occupy all Honkai energy rifts on this continent."

"Incorporate all newly born Honkai Beasts into the legion."

As an Emperor Guard, the Magic Knight's strength had already reached its peak.

Aside from a few special Variants, even an ordinary Honkai Emperor might not necessarily be able to defeat it—

"I obey your command."

The Magic Knight gripped its lance…

No, to be precise, it was the twin-tailed doll on the Magic Knight's back that gripped the lance. It leaped down from the back of the "warhorse," landing before Lu Xing in a standard, single-knee salute.

The aforementioned actions were, for the Magic Knight itself, actually quite incongruous.

Even now, Lu Xing was unaware that the Magic Knight's awakening as a Variant was profoundly related to himself.

However, with his focus shifted to Ange, he paid no mind to these minor details.

"Are we leaving?"

"That's right."

Shesha, coiled on his shoulder, posed the question.

Judging by Lu Xing's recent arrangements, it was clear he was preparing to temporarily… no, perhaps for an extended period, depart the Australian continent.

"Where to?"

"The Indian Peninsula."

The location Lu Xing had chosen for Ange was precisely the Indian Peninsula, separated from the Australian continent by a sea.

There truly weren't many viable targets.

In the Asian regions closest to the Australian continent, aside from this "South Asian subcontinent" that was the Indian Peninsula, almost every other place fell within Shenzhou's sphere of influence.

Lu Xing had witnessed Shenzhou's power.

Currently, he had neither the desire nor the capability to confront this behemoth.

As for other choices… they would either lead into the Mu Continent's sphere of influence or North America's.

Only the Indian Peninsula—

Its population was immense, its governance considerably chaotic, and ethnic conflicts were extremely common…

It was, quite simply, a natural breeding ground for Honkai and its development.

"Is there a lot of food there?"

"To be precise, there's a lot of semi-finished food there."

Lu Xing's single, dark-gold eye began to swivel, his peripheral vision slowly sweeping over Shesha.

"Don't be impatient."

"It's not yet time for your complete recovery."

"We need to help this girl first."

Shesha's attention shifted along with Lu Xing's gaze, landing on Ange.

"A Herrscher, is it…"

"Trying to control a Herrscher, aren't you afraid of playing with fire and burning yourself?"

Shesha was acutely aware of a Herrscher's power—a fact Lu Xing also understood—which made it all the more incomprehensible why Lu Xing would help a Herrscher awaken.

One had to know, in the eyes of a Herrscher, aside from their companion Honkai Beasts who shared a common source of power, most other beings were no different from disposable trash.

"Control?"

"No, I never thought of controlling a Herrscher," Lu Xing replied.

"Then why?"

Asking this question proved that Shesha had indeed sided with Lu Xing. The Eighth Herrscher would be born regardless; Shesha, as a "Honkai of the previous dynasty," had long since had its fate bound to Lu Xing's.

A pale golden radiance slowly precipitated.

The Space-Time Ring flew out from behind him, opening a new path before Lu Xing.

"Of course, it is…"

In the final moment before stepping into the portal, a voice, its truthfulness difficult for Shesha to discern, slowly drifted out:

"For the will of the Honkai."