For the Dawn No. 15 Fortress, Lei Dong's intelligence was already crystal clear. What was terrifying about the opposition wasn't just the six Nascent Soul Winged Gods, nor the hundred Golden Core Winged Gods. What was most formidable were the hundreds of Light Cannons mounted atop the fortress, and the Iron-Blood Knights, numbering a full ten thousand in formation.

The so-called Iron-Blood Knights were a specialty unit within the Holy Domain of Light, drawn from the vastly numerous subjugated populace. These subjects were also human, but having existed in the Domain of Light for eons—tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of years of evolution—they had adapted to the environment and become another human race. They were fair-skinned, robust, and tall, with golden or other hues for their hair, gradually tending toward the appearance of the Winged God race.

In fact, they bore a notable resemblance to the Caucasian race from Lei Dong’s previous life.

This human race thrived mightily within the Holy Domain of Light, constituting the most numerous mortal race under the jurisdiction of the various floating continents. Through generations of indoctrination, these people had long since lost their sense of self, viewing themselves as descendants of the Winged Gods, revering them as deities, willingly submitting to their rule, and intensely yearning to become members of the Winged God race themselves.

In reality, the Winged God race would periodically reward outstanding individuals who had rendered great service, utilizing a formation spell known as Light Conversion to transform their bloodlines into those of the Winged Gods. However, this process required the involvement of the Divine Water of Life, meaning the number of converts was small. Yet, over the vast expanse of tens or hundreds of millions of years, the accumulated total was substantial.

It could even be said that currently, aside from the very few Winged Gods possessing the bloodline of truly ancient ancestors, the ancestors of the majority of the current Winged God race were derived from human conversions, meaning their bloodlines were no longer purely original.

But the bloodline of the Winged Gods remained potent. Normally, a Winged God practicing the Great Light Art would reach at least the early Golden Core stage upon reaching adulthood at one hundred years of age. Of course, advancing to the Nascent Soul stage required both innate talent and desperate effort.

Once humans were converted into Winged God beings, due to the inherent strength of their life factors, their fertility rate decreased significantly. Today, the total number of Winged Gods was only about a million. Even so, a million Winged Gods vastly surpassed races like the Underworld Phoenix, which numbered fewer than ten thousand.

In truth, if a high-tier bloodline race like the Underworld Phoenix possessed a population of a million, the Phoenix clan would unquestionably rank first among the powerful races. This demonstrated that fertility rate was fundamental to a race's ultimate strength. In fact, the fertility rates of the Underworld Phoenix and the Winged Gods were not drastically different. It was the consistent, cumulative conversion of humans into Winged Gods over time that made the latter race increasingly formidable.

Among humans, too, there were those with outstanding Spiritual Roots. Consider that the Continent of Dawn alone hosted billions of humans. The number possessing spiritual roots was far from small, and geniuses would certainly not be few. If one summed up the human populations across the Eight Great Floating Continents, the total would be roughly comparable to the combined population of the Nine Provinces in the human world. Judging solely by this, the strength of the humans in the Holy Domain of Light should not be significantly weaker than that of the Nine Provinces.

However, the Winged God race was ultimately proud, even arrogant and self-absorbed, absolutely unwilling to allow any subjugated race to rise to a position above their masters. Under relentless brainwashing and a policy of iron and blood, humanity remained enslaved and oppressed. For any unparalleled genius among the humans, they were either converted into a Winged God, becoming one of the ruling class, or, if they dared to resist rule, they were eliminated prematurely.

Furthermore, the cultivation methods that the Winged Gods researched and taught to the humans of the Domain of Light were all processed and truncated versions, their names also altered. One was called Dou Qi (Battle Energy), and the other Shen Shu Magic (Divine Art Magic). Dou Qi, in essence, was the True Essence cultivated from standard techniques, but stripped of all variegated components, retaining only sharp, killing power. This power was inherently incomplete, yet precisely because of its purity, it possessed considerable might and allowed for rapid advancement in cultivation.

Like True Essence, Dou Qi also possessed the five elemental attributes as well as strange attributes, completely retaining its combat utility.

However, precisely because it was a corrupted form of True Qi and True Essence, Dou Qi, despite its rapid cultivation speed and strong combat power, had numerous drawbacks. There were three fatal flaws. First, although Dou Qi could strengthen the body and extend lifespan, its effect was limited and far less potent than True Essence in tempering the self. A Dou Qi expert equivalent to the Golden Core level typically had a lifespan of only about 150 years.

The second flaw was that Dou Qi was purely a combat force; practitioners could only utilize the inherent attributes of their Dou Qi but could not use it to command the energies of heaven and earth, nor could they refine their Divine Sense. Consequently, those practicing Dou Qi techniques generally possessed weak Divine Senses, making it difficult for them to mobilize their Dou Qi to cast various spells.

The third and most severe fatal flaw was that while initial cultivation was swift, it became increasingly arduous later on. Attempting to advance to a level comparable to Nascent Soul solely through this poorly grounded Dou Qi technique was as difficult as a human in the Nine Provinces cultivating to the Soul Transformation stage. This revealed the extremely limited potential of this method. The Winged Gods devised this solely to suppress the humans of the Domain of Light.

As for practitioners of Divine Art Magic, the situation was the precise opposite of those practicing Dou Qi. These techniques heavily emphasized the cultivation and application of Divine Sense, largely neglecting the strengthening of their fundamental physical essence. Once the Divine Sense was strong, they needed to comprehend the basic laws of various aspects of heaven and earth, such as the Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth). Through Divine Sense, they commanded and utilized these forces of law to form various magical restraints.

The resulting spells, cast through what amounted to simplified True Word Incantations, were certainly astonishing in power. But equally, this was a deeply flawed cultivation path; even when powerful, the increase in lifespan was negligible.

However, one must not discount the potential strength of the humans in this world simply because of these two flawed cultivation methods. Because these cultivation methods were simple and pure, designed solely for combat, they were extremely easy to promote, very accessible to beginners, required few rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and allowed for rapid advancement. Most terrifyingly, they allowed for vast numbers.

For instance, a young person in the Nine Provinces with average Spiritual Roots, practicing orthodox techniques, might still struggle desperately in the Qi Refining stage. Meanwhile, an individual of similar aptitude in the Domain of Light, practicing Dou Qi or Magic, could break through to a level equivalent to Foundation Establishment within ten or twenty years, becoming a Dou Shi (Battle Master) or Magician with considerable combat power.

If that young man in the Qi Refining stage fought a Dou Shi or Magician, it would be pure self-torture—an invitation to death. From this perspective alone, cultivating Dou Qi or Magic might not be a disadvantage for someone with ordinary or poor spiritual root aptitude.

Of course, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator confronted a Dou Shi or Magician of the same rank, the cultivator would hold a significant advantage due to their versatile combat tactics and superior overall comprehensive strength.

Upon receiving this intelligence, Lei Dong studied it with astonishment and meticulous care. In the end, even Lei Dong himself could not definitively pronounce the pros and cons of cultivating these methods. For those with exceptional aptitude, Dou Qi and Magic were an insult and a waste. But for ordinary people, they might represent an alternative path. After all, the number of individuals who could reach the Nascent Soul or Soul Transformation stages, relative to the total population, was pitifully small.

But this very fact underscored the might of the Iron-Blood Knights. Because according to the standards set by the Winged Gods, those incorporated into the regular cavalry had to possess a minimum rank of Dou Shi or Magician, theoretically equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage in the Nine Provinces.

What was even more alarming was that these cavalry troops were highly disciplined, operating under strict military formations. Magicians and Dou Shis supported each other, forming immense collective combat power, and their religious fervor was intense, making them fearless of death. If one Foundation Establishment cultivator could defeat a single, equivalent-ranked Dou Shi or Magician, if they were arrayed in units of ten thousand, the cultivators' side might not guarantee a hundred percent victory. In fact, if the cultivators lacked sufficient training and coordinated combat ability, their side might even be defeated.

Among those ten thousand Iron-Blood Knights, not only were the most basic members at the Dou Shi level, but many were also at the Great Dou Shi level, roughly equivalent to the Golden Core stage among the humans of the Nine Provinces.

Allowing these ten thousand "cannon fodder" to sweep across the battlefield would indeed be a troublesome matter for Lei Dong. Fortunately, Lei Dong was practically certain of securing victory in taking this fortress.

For the Dawn Continent's Fortress No. 15 in the Holy Domain of Light, this was an utterly routine day.

Within the defensive teleportation array of the fortress, space briefly warped, signaling an imminent arrival. A rotating Nascent Soul Winged God, leading a large contingent of subordinates, stood rigidly alert atop the broad battlements, their eyes filled with extreme vigilance.

Should the teleportation array bring forth any hostile alien race members, the anti-air formation would be activated instantly, followed by the bombardment of the Light Cannons. However, the first to step out of the formation was a Winged God—slender, youthful, and handsome, bearing a pair of white wings sprouting from his back.

Behind him followed a small squad of humans dressed as Dou Shis and Magicians.

The on-duty Nascent Soul Winged God’s eyes clearly relaxed; he looked like he recognized an acquaintance. Waving his hand, he chuckled, "It's you, Yikong. Back again from wandering that filthy, squalid Ghost City of the Netherworld? Did you bring back any good loot this time?"

Yikong shot him an irritated glance, his gaze carrying a hint of worldliness. "I didn't go to the Netherworld Ghost Domain for aimless wandering, Andrew; I was conducting business. I’m an orphan, not like you, born into a good family with endless resources to fuel your cultivation. I have to rely entirely on myself."

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