After clearing the thoughts in her mind, Kiana spoke up: "However… with that said, can the Doctor also deduce what World Serpent actually did before?"
"For example, the current state of Earth?"
MEI shook her head: "That might be difficult… After all, the Prime World has many people and events that simply cannot be known from the perspective of the World Bubbles."
"At most, I can only guess that, up to now, the Stigmata Plan should still be reversible."
"However, when it comes to you two specifically… the flaw in the seal placed on you is quite obvious."
"It even looks like it was left there intentionally."
Kiana asked: "…Flaw?"
MEI nodded in agreement: "That's right. As fellow Herrschers, although your power is also missing some parts, Senti still retains relatively more Authority."
"And it is precisely this extra portion that enabled the result of you successfully coming to my side."
"So, if it's just guessing this part… I can indeed provide an idea — mental shackles."
Kiana said thoughtfully: "You mean… our Authorities were sealed at the mental level?"
Hearing this guess, the Herrscher of Sentience immediately became unhappy.
"Hah?"
"Sealing the consciousness of a Herrscher from the mental level? You've got to be kidding!"
The Herrscher of Sentience stated directly: "I don't believe it. How is that possible?"
To her, this result was as ridiculous as a fish drowning in water.
MEI then said: "It does sound unbelievable, but… it's not without precedent in your history."
"For example, compared to what Su did to another Herrscher of Sentience back then."
"The method Kevin used at least didn't completely nail down your Authority."
"If he had been willing to apply targeted arrangements on you — then let alone applying psychological suggestions to others, you would probably have found it very difficult to even move freely."
The Herrscher of Sentience did not refute this, but instead asked: "So? You just wanted to tell us that the current situation isn't that bad yet?"
MEI continued: "If Su, or that Aponia, were here, our problem should be solvable easily."
"But now, since we lack powerful mental-type warriors…"
It was hard to tell whether it was intentional or not, but Dr. MEI glanced at the Herrscher of Sentience again.
"…Sigh, it's so difficult. Where exactly should we go to find our Fenghuang Down?"
The Herrscher of Sentience's eyes widened: "…You?!"
It was an obvious provocation. All three people present, including the Herrscher of Sentience, understood this completely.
It was like the audience outside the TV was dying of laughter — this was clearly treating the Herrscher of Sentience like a child.
"To be fair, our Senti baby really is a child. How long has she even been born?"
"Herrscher of Sentience-sama, banzai! The Herrscher of Sentience has reached her one-month anniversary!"
"Pfft, Senti modified your consciousness, so now the Herrscher of Sentience is the unparalleled beautiful girl!"
"I really want to marry a Senti as my wife, and also raise her as my daughter!"
"…"
Not to mention the nationwide audience who loved watching the drama, even Kiana on the TV felt that things were getting dangerous.
"Uh… isn't this a bit too obvious?"
"Even for her, there's no way she would…"
Thinking this, Kiana secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
However, in the next instant.
"No way…"
The mental space Kiana had once entered unfolded once again.
Although there was no warning, Kiana still smelled a strong scent of rage in the air.
Kiana quickly said: "Wait, Herrscher of Sentience, Dr. MEI might not have finished speaking, she…"
The Herrscher of Sentience interrupted directly: "Enough talk. Since it's a shackle, I'll break it for you!"
Ignoring the audience outside the TV who were laughing heartily, Kiana on the TV suddenly felt a strong sense of foreboding.
"Wait… what kind of 'breaking' are you talking about exactly?"
Before she could finish speaking, the illusion fully unfolded, and the Herrscher of Sentience's fist was already smashing over, forcing Kiana to dodge and defend.
While attacking, the Herrscher of Sentience asked: "Any change?"
"If not, then I'll continue!"
Undoubtedly, this kind of provocation that would probably be ineffective on others.
For the Herrscher of Sentience, it was extremely effective, making her attack with serious intent.
After all, breaking something in the physical sense was still breaking it, right?
Of course, this didn't mean the Herrscher of Sentience was stupid. She was someone who wouldn't surprise anyone no matter what she did.
But she also understood MEI's intention, just like Kiana did.
Simply put, the Herrscher of Sentience was just taking this opportunity to vent.
"However, she's actually taking this so seriously…"
Watching the Herrscher of Sentience's constantly rising momentum, Kiana examined her own condition with increasing calm.
This sudden and seemingly meaningless fight had already caused both sides a certain degree of mental exhaustion.
However…
During this examination, Kiana suddenly noticed something new.
"Wait, could it be…"
Suddenly thinking of something, Kiana looked directly at the Herrscher of Sentience and said: "Senti, give me another punch. Use more power!"
The Herrscher of Sentience was confused: "…Hah?"
"You… you pervert…?!"
However, she naturally wouldn't refuse such a request.
After a brief charge-up, even gorgeous special effects began to appear around her body.
Then, with one punch, the world lost its color!
Kiana did not just take it passively. She blocked the punch and at the same time confirmed her previous guess.
"As expected, as my spirit weakens, that shackle also…"
"Dr. MEI, did you say those things to her on purpose?"
While Kiana was thinking, the Herrscher of Sentience's dissatisfied voice rang out.
"Kiana, are you getting distracted during a fight?"
Before the words even finished, a delicate, fair, yet immensely powerful punch came flying, forcing Kiana back more than ten meters.
Seeing that the Herrscher of Sentience was about to continue, Kiana quickly said: "Alright, I admit it… right now you're still much stronger than me."
"—I surrender."
After cleanly surrendering, Kiana added: "Let's leave this place. We still have a lot of proper business to handle."
Seeing that Kiana had already surrendered, the Herrscher of Sentience snorted lightly: "Good that you know…"
"Wait, I'm the one doing proper business here. Who wants to compete with you?"
"Even if you team up with that old antique right now, you two still wouldn't be enough for me to fight alone!"
"Hey, okay okay, just stand there and don't move."
"Let me try properly to see if I can undo that shackle."
However, Kiana smiled faintly: "It might… already be unnecessary."
A question mark appeared on the Herrscher of Sentience's face, but Kiana did not explain.
"Let's leave here first. I originally thought Dr. MEI's attitude earlier was too casual…"
"But her real intention doesn't seem to be what we thought."
The Herrscher of Sentience said unhappily: "Hey, you want me to take you away, so I take you away? Do I have no dignity?"
Kiana's smile grew even brighter: "No, actually… it seems I can leave this place with my own power now."
The Herrscher of Sentience's eyes widened: "What? You!"
Before she could finish speaking, the illusion that had swallowed the two of them faded away.
For a moment, Kiana looked smug, while the Herrscher of Sentience wore an expression like she had eaten something bad.
Seeing this scene, the audience nearly died laughing.
They thought they already understood the Herrscher of Sentience well enough, but it turned out that wasn't even her limit.
After exiting the illusion, Kiana looked around and showed a puzzled expression: "Huh?"
"Dr. MEI… has she already left?"
Indeed, MEI, who had just been standing beside them, had now disappeared without a trace.
At this time, the Herrscher of Sentience walked over angrily: "Never mind where she went. First explain to me clearly — what exactly did you mean just now?"
Kiana explained: "It's very simple. Dr. MEI's intention earlier wasn't to provoke your competitive spirit at all."
"She wanted you to use your remaining Authority to help me break the shackles."
"What she wanted was simply for you to beat me up."
"…"
After a moment of silence, the Herrscher of Sentience closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then shouted loudly: "What's wrong with you?!"
"Oh, no…"
"What's wrong with you two?!!"
Seeing the Herrscher of Sentience spreading her hands, looking like she wanted to curse them out.
Not only the nationwide audience, even the people in the company couldn't hold it in.
Himeko couldn't help but say: "Is this still… Fu Hua?"
Even though she had joined the company for so long, Fu Hua still gave people the impression of being closer to the Fu Hua in the main story.
Now that she was playing the role of the Herrscher of Sentience, it even made people suspect she had a split personality.
Fu Hua showed a somewhat subtle expression and said: "How should I put it? I actually quite like the feeling of playing the Herrscher of Sentience."
Not far away, Seele also showed an expression of deep agreement.
Having always been seen as a good child by others, occasionally playing Dark Seele really gave her a strange, taboo sense of pleasure.
If anyone asked, it was all the dog director's fault.
"Achoo!"
Hessian suddenly sneezed, feeling like some commoners were secretly plotting against him.
Elysia asked with concern: "Honey, are you okay? You didn't catch a cold, did you?"
Hessian said: "Of course I'm fine. Even if something was wrong, your caring from my dear wife has already made it better!"
"This is Elysia's fairy magic!"
Elysia covered her face and said: "Ara, even I didn't know I could use such powerful magic."
"…"
Even though they were in the company, this couple was openly showing off their affection and feeding dog food to everyone.
The surrounding actors all turned to the TV with expressionless faces.
As if by concentrating hard enough, the dog food wouldn't reach their mouths.
On the TV.
Kiana scratched her head: "I also find it a bit hard to believe, but… let's just use facts to explain it."
"I don't fully understand the principle behind it either, but —"
Kiana slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her deep blue pupils were covered with a layer of gold.
"Divine One, the pinnacle of change!"
A golden aura burst forth. Terrifying Honkai energy nearly condensed into a solid form, covering the bridge.
The originally damaged bridge seemed to have been fully repaired.
"…"
After a moment of silence, the Herrscher of Sentience suddenly said: "Nice— I'm speechless!"
Kiana explained: "When we were fighting in the illusion, as my spirit was weakened by you."
"The shackles placed upon my Authority were also weakened along with it."
"And for some reason… the power of Taixuan Sword Qi itself was largely unaffected by those shackles."
"So at that time, I wanted you to continue attacking me."
"And… help me find the technique for Sword Qi to bypass part of the shackles."
The Herrscher of Sentience clicked her tongue: "If it was really that simple, I would have done it for you already. Why wait for you to figure it out yourself?"
Kiana also said somewhat puzzled: "About this… I can't explain it either."
"To me, this was still a lucky coincidence."
"However… it really was thanks to you, Senti."
"Right now, the ability to weaken others in mental space is something only you possess."
A question mark appeared on the Herrscher of Sentience's face again as she retorted: "I already told you not to call me that."
"It's too weird. Who's older than who here!"
These complaints were also something the Herrscher of Sentience forced out.
"Hmph, you just got lucky. Beating you to death was my only goal earlier."
Hearing this, Kiana smiled lightly: "Alright, alright. Whether it was a lucky coincidence or not, probably only Dr. MEI knows."
"Now… let's hurry and meet up with Mei and the others."
"I think the Doctor should be over there too."
With that, Kiana and the Herrscher of Sentience left the area. Before long, they found MEI.
She was standing in a spot with an excellent view, gazing at the scenery that had remained unchanged for ten thousand years around her.
Strangely, this leader, who was burdened with illness and frailer than anyone present.
Always naturally appeared everywhere.
She looked like she could be knocked down by a gentle breeze. However, if she stood in the freezing polar region wearing only thin clothes.
It would not feel the slightest bit unusual.
Noticing Kiana and the Herrscher of Sentience, MEI turned her head and said: "It seems I should congratulate you two."
"Are you ready to meet up with your companions?"
With no intention of answering at all, the irritable Herrscher of Sentience rushed forward, almost wanting to grab the other party's collar.
"Hey, what exactly was that about?"
Staring at MEI with wide eyes, the Herrscher of Sentience asked aggressively: "Did you calculate that this would happen from the beginning?"
MEI thought for a moment: "How should I put it? It was worth a try."
"My understanding of mental control is not deep. I only have some experience studying Discipline."
"But the divine sounds on your bodies do indeed belong to my invention in the broad sense, so they aren't hard to identify."
The Herrscher of Sentience was left speechless for a moment, then said grumpily: "…Sorry, it's now called Taixuan Sword Qi."
MEI waved her hand: "The name isn't important. Your Sword Qi shares the same origin as Discipline. At its root, it is also a kind of mental shackle."
"Although it is mechanically insufficient to eliminate another mental shackle… it is more than enough to counterbalance it."
"Of course, deliberately provoking you was just an experiment."
"Since all things are difficult at the beginning, I simply let you consume your entire spirit along with the shackles in battle."
"Although there was some physical loss… but now it seems the result is a happy win-win situation with great returns, right?"