"What did you call me over for?" After walking to the corner, Chen Luo asked the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Alright, stop playing dumb. From the bits and pieces just now, you must have noticed something, right?" The Herrscher of Sentience rolled her eyes at Chen Luo.
"You mean how you didn't just traverse space but also time?"
"Exactly. Do you remember how your mission described me?" the Herrscher of Sentience prompted.
"Just got scammed by your mom over the phone?"
Bam!
The Herrscher of Sentience punched Chen Luo on the head.
In her opinion, this guy was just asking for a beating.
"Cough, talk nicely—no need for violence. I remember it was: 'The Herrscher of Sentience was swept into a spacetime rift by chaotic spacetime currents, sustaining heavy injuries.'" After getting punched, Chen Luo instantly became much more well-behaved.
"Right, exactly that. At first, I didn't realize those gray things were spacetime chaos, but when I was pulled into a black hole, I really did feel like I was seeing flashes of past events. I even saw the scene of me fighting Kiana on Taixuan Mountain. I didn't pay it any mind at first, but now that I think about it, that was the sign of me crossing time!" The Herrscher of Sentience slapped his thigh emphatically.
"Ow. Next time, can you slap your own thigh?" Chen Luo rubbed his own thigh.
"Next time, definitely, definitely."
"So, why did you call me over?"
"I remember that without your permission, special abilities can't be used on others inside the bar, right? But if I get your authorization, it's allowed." The Herrscher of Sentience looked Chen Luo in the eye.
"Yeah, what do you want to do?"
"Of course, modify Theresa's consciousness. If she goes back and talks to that old timer and realizes she never came to this bar, wouldn't everything be exposed?" the Herrscher of Sentience said matter-of-factly.
"But let me warn you in advance—if I lift the restriction on you attacking her, the corresponding restriction on her attacking you will also be unlocked," Chen Luo reminded her.
"Don't worry about that. I'm not going to beat her up. I'll just tweak her subconscious so she'll never mention this bar or the fact that she saw 'her' here to that old fossil. It's a tiny change—she won't even notice," the Herrscher of Sentience said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Hmm, that's fine, but don't you want to return to your own world right now?" Chen Luo nodded but then asked another question.
"What, you trying to kick me out?" The Herrscher of Sentience cracked her knuckles.
"No, no, no! You can stay at my place as long as you want. After all, we're family now."
Having one daughter to take care of was just a matter of a bit more living expenses—no big deal.
"It's just… generally speaking, when people who've crossed worlds see a chance to return to their own, wouldn't they seize it immediately?" Chen Luo hesitated before voicing his question.
"But why should I go back to my own world?" Unexpectedly, the Herrscher of Sentience stroked her chin and posed this question in return.
"Of course, it's for… for…" At first, Chen Luo thought this was an easy question to answer, but when the words reached his lips, he found himself at a loss—or rather, he couldn't think of a single reason.
Yeah, why should the Herrscher of Sentience return to her original world?
Family? Friends? Lovers? Disciples?
Sorry, the Herrscher of Sentience had none of those.
The only one she was slightly worried about was Fu Hua.
But Fu Hua, at this point in time—before the Third Honkai Eruption even began—was doing just fine. She didn't need the Herrscher of Sentience to save her.
So when you thought about it, the Herrscher of Sentience had no real reason to go back.
Well, getting Chen Luo to beat up Kiana counted as one, but obviously, it was too early for that now.
"So, there's no need for me to go back. Besides, I still have a Herrscher core inside me. If I return to my original world, there's a high chance the Will of Honkai would detect me immediately. It's not like I'm scared of it, but if I mess up the world's development trajectory, it'd be pretty troublesome," the Herrscher of Sentience said, crossing her arms.
The Herrscher of Sentience was, in a way, a Herrscher created by the Will of Honkai. Her sudden appearance at this point—before even the Third Herrscher had awakened—would be extremely disruptive.
If everything proceeded according to the original storyline, it would be far more advantageous for the Herrscher of Sentience.
Though, now that Theresa had entered this bar, the plot was bound to deviate somewhat.
"So, you're saying you don't plan to return to your original world at all?" Chen Luo couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I'll go back! How could I miss out on something like the Third Honkai Eruption?" The Herrscher of Sentience seemed to recall something delightful, her grin practically unstoppable.
"Kiana's talent is incredible—it's just a shame she was held back by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. If she were trained by me… Hey, what do you think about making Kiana beat up that old timer?" The Herrscher of Sentience suddenly turned to Chen Luo.
"I feel like… that could work." Though her idea sounded chaotic, from a certain perspective, it was indeed feasible.
"Oh, right—when the time comes, you're coming with me," the Herrscher of Sentience added casually as they were about to leave the corner.
"Huh? Why?"
"Duh. If I go alone, my Herrscher identity will definitely be exposed. But if I hide inside you, I'm confident the Will of Honkai won't notice." The Herrscher of Sentience rolled her eyes at Chen Luo.
"And how could you bear to let a delicate, helpless young girl like me face the terrifying Third Honkai Eruption all alone?" She gave Chen Luo a pitiful look.
"…Delicate, helpless." Chen Luo couldn't help but disagree with that description.
Let's be honest—the Herrscher of Sentience at her peak could go toe-to-toe with the six-core Herrscher Sirin. She might not guarantee a win, but at least a 50-50 chance.
The Herrscher of Sentience was arguably an outlier among Herrschers.
This fist carries 50,000 years of power—how do you block that?
Tens of thousands of years of combat experience, a Herrscher's body, and the ability to wield the Edge of Taixuan fueled by the Authority of Sentience…
Honestly, Chen Luo would believe it if someone said the Herrscher of Sentience could beat every other Herrscher into the ground.
After all, at this point in time, the only Herrscher around was the Herrscher of Reason—and he was barely clinging to life. So yeah, she could definitely beat them all.
The only thing Chen Luo wasn't sure about was whether the Herrscher of Sentience's physical abilities had grown stronger or weaker after coming to this world and gaining a physical form due to special circumstances. Could she still compare to her peak self?