[Detecting holder's fusion with Herrscher Core.]
[Authority of Finality detected. System restrictions unlocked (2/2).]
[System restrictions unlocked.]
[System updating... System update complete.]
[Your level has increased to Lv.76.]
[Your level has increased to Lv.77.]
[...]
[Your level has increased to Lv.82.]
[Your mission (Continue the Remnant Civilization) has been completed.]
[Your level has increased to Lv.83.]
[Your mission (Create a New Civilization) has been completed.]
[Your level has increased to Lv.84.]
[Your mission (Destroy More Civilizations) has been completed.]
[Your level has increased to Lv.85.]
[Holder detected to have obtained a Divine Core.]
[You have unlocked Authority of Flame, Authority of Thunder, and Authority of Ice.]
[Your aforementioned Authorities have been merged and elevated to the Dominion of Destruction.]
[You have unlocked Authority of Rock, Authority of the Void, and Authority of Wind.]
[Your aforementioned Authorities have been merged and elevated to the Dominion of Trailblaze.]
[You have unlocked Authority of Sentience, Authority of Domination, and Authority of Erosion.]
[Your aforementioned Authorities have been merged and elevated to the Dominion of Erudition.]
[You have unlocked Authority of Reason, Authority of Death, and Authority of Binding.]
[Your aforementioned Authorities have been merged and elevated to the Dominion of Preservation.]
---o---
A continuous stream of system information flashed rapidly through his mental world.
Through these four new powers—Dominions—Lu Xing roughly understood what the God of Honkai meant by the word "borrow." Incidentally, the "quantifiers" used by an Astral God differed greatly from the understanding of mortal races.
Nanook, the Astral God of Destruction.
Akivili, the Astral God of Trailblaze.
Nous, the Astral God of Erudition.
Qlipoth, the Astral God of Preservation.
This information did not come from Lu Xing's own memory, but were the names of the corresponding Astral Gods that automatically appeared upon obtaining the four "Dominions." Of course, it was only their names; all other information was unknown.
At the same time, the greatest change to Lu Xing came from the perfectly flawless, spherical core—what the system prompt had called the "Divine Core."
And this perfect sphere had become Lu Xing's everything.
That's right.
As the four Dominions were bestowed upon him, Lu Xing's original, massive body had vanished, leaving only this bare sphere floating in the vacuum of space.
No, wait!
These four Dominions belonging to the Astral Gods must have been elevated after the Divine Core appeared.
Before that—
Scanning the memories in his mind, Lu Xing quickly found the earlier information: the system prompts he had missed while in a daze during his "return."
[You have unlocked a new Dominion: the Dominion of Order.]
[Detecting holder's first contact with an 'Astral God'.]
[You have unlocked the achievement 'Pathstrider'.]
[Detecting holder's first acquisition of a 'Dominion'.]
[Your achievement 'Pathstrider' has been elevated to 'Emissary'.]
[You have unlocked a new Dominion: the Dominion of Long.]
[...]
[Your Super Perception and Analysis have merged and elevated to Divine Link.]
[Your Stellar Ring has been elevated to Celestial Comet Wall.]
[Your Divine Flame Cannon and Civilization Impact have merged and elevated to Divine Flame Impact.]
[Your Infinity, [Myriad], and Root Assimilation have merged and elevated to Root Regression.]
[Your Star-Annihilating Cannon has been elevated to Galactic Silence (Galactic Combustion).]
[...]
Long, the Astral God of Immortality.
Just as before, upon perceiving the "Dominion," the name of the corresponding Astral God appeared directly in his mind.
However... the situation of "Long, the Astral God of Immortality" and "Akivili, the Astral God of Trailblaze" was the same, or rather, they shared the same fate as the "Astral God of Order (God of Honkai)."
They were already dead.
Lu Xing had no idea why such powerful beings had perished, but he had gained a deeper understanding of the God of Honkai's power.
Should he say, as expected of an Astral God so close to the Tree? Whether "borrowed" from other Astral Gods or comprehended from the Tree's vast and boundless knowledge, the God of Honkai had obtained the powers of far too many different "Paths."
To put it disrespectfully, if it weren't for its many years of loyal service, the "Tree" would probably have erased the God of Honkai long ago.
As for his own choices... he had no choice at all!
Although the God of Honkai had told him to live more freely, he had just advanced and had already obtained a full six Dominions. In other words, from the very beginning, he was already juggling six different paths at once (three of which had already capsized). Unless he never sought any improvement for the rest of his life and also managed to avoid the followers of these Astral Gods, a peaceful existence was simply not possible!
He wondered if the other "children" before him had received such favorable treatment.
It was as if a supreme master had laid six different divine techniques before you and told you of your prodigious talent. Who could resist giving them all up or learning only one?
An adult's choice must be—
"I want it all!"
That being said... these Dominions, unlike Authorities, did not directly provide Lu Xing with new skills. As part of the God of Honkai's Path, the system could manifest these powers within his consciousness, but figuring out how to use them would require his own hands-on research.
However, with his foundational knowledge of Authorities, "simple" use shouldn't be too difficult.
Before that, the Dominion of Long required no knowledge or understanding and very decisively began to exert its effect, an effect that made Lu Xing's eyes light up:
Creating a body!
That's right. This Dominion directly helped Lu Xing, who was now just a bare "golden core," construct a brand-new body in an extremely short amount of time. As a manifestation of a Path, the Dominion communicated directly with Imaginary space, taking effect without requiring any additional energy.
And then—
A new "golden core" appeared where the shattered moon had been!
"..."
The followers of "Long, the Astral God of Immortality" were called the "Scions of Long," and their characteristic was their immense physical strength. But Lu Xing had never heard of any "Scion of Long" growing into such a perfect sphere!
"..."
No, he might have misunderstood the Dominion of Long.
Although its shape was a bit too round, this new body that had replaced the moon should probably be categorized as a "dragon egg."
As for the current stats of this dragon egg...
---o---
[Race: Emissary · Scion of Long · Star-Vault Monarch]
[Level: 85]
[Abilities: Divine Link, Divine Flame Impact, God Fist Pulverizer, Galactic Silence (Galactic Combustion), Celestial Comet Wall, Root Regression, Dominion of Order, Dominion of Long, Dominion of Destruction, Dominion of Preservation, Dominion of Erudition, Dominion of Trailblaze.]
[Attack: 936]
[Speed: 936]
[Constitution: 936]
[Evaluation: The Successor]