"It’s not necessarily a bad thing to come from a prominent family," Andrew sighed, a tone tinged with mingled sentiment and dissatisfaction. "Perhaps you gain certain advantages in some areas, but you lose so much in others—freedom, for instance. I truly envy you, the liberty to go wherever you please." Clearly, Andrew harbored considerable resentment over the family's decision to exile him to this desolate place.

"Everyone has their own burdens; let’s not dwell on such trivialities," Yikong said, smiling as he waved a hand, yet transmitting a private sound transmission: "Andrew, I just made a circuit through the Nether Domain and the Purgatory Domain, and I managed to pick up some nice things for you."

"Oh, how embarrassing," Andrew said, his eyes lighting up beneath his brilliant white armor, though his reply was a hesitant transmission: "I really shouldn't accept this. This is what you obtained through hard-won adventure and trade."

"Andrew, what kind of talk is that? Though we’ve only known each other a few years, we connect so well, like friends of a millennium," Yikong transmitted with slight displeasure. "Don't worry, these are just gifts from friends, not bribes. I’ve never asked you to do anything for me, Yikong. If you continue speaking like this, we won’t even be friends anymore."

"Alright, alright, my mistake," Andrew replied via transmission, quickly adding, "Don't stand down there within cannon range; hurry up and get onto the fortress." As he spoke, he glanced back at the few men and women trailing behind him, some dressed as Battle Masters, others as Mages. He asked with a hint of curiosity via transmission, "Yikong, I don't recall you bringing retainers before. These few humans—their auras seem quite decent, possessing some minor strength."

"No choice in the matter. The place I just visited was far too dangerous," Yikong led his small accompanying group toward the fortress entrance at a measured pace, continuing his transmission: "I had to recruit a batch of retainers from the human world to serve as cannon fodder—over thirty of them. Only these few pitiful ones remain. What a waste." Flying. Still unable to fly. Although the anti-flight array wasn't active, custom dictated that flight was forbidden even when it wasn't.

Andrew chuckled, sending a noncommittal transmission: "Just low-grade human cannon fodder. What’s worth mourning over a few deaths? Humans breed like insects anyway; even if half perish, they’ll quickly crawl to cover the entire continent again."

Yikong sighed internally. This was the typical attitude of a standard Winged God Clan member towards humans—contempt, disdain. They viewed themselves as lofty deities, and humans merely as an inferior race. Little did they know that the humans of the Nine Continents had become extraordinarily powerful. If the entire human world of the Nine Continents united, their combined strength now far surpassed that of the established Four Great Clans.

Pity the Winged God Clan, still adrift in the glory of the past, considering themselves the highest race, blind to the intense changes occurring outside. This, however, was largely thanks to the Winged God Clan’s political strategies: isolationism and indoctrination. Even someone of Andrew’s standing rarely received news from the outside world, either actively or passively.

Power was consolidated in the hands of the Winged God King, who controlled the eight fragmented continents.

For example, the Dawn King here, on the Dawn Continent, was a god-like entity. His decree was divine mandate; none dared disobey.

Having traveled widely, endured numerous hardships and pain abroad, and having been influenced by Lei Dong, Yikong clearly understood that if things continued this way, the Winged God Clan was inevitably heading toward ruin. Deep within Yikong’s heart, his conviction became exceptionally clear and firm, a sharp glint hidden beneath his seemingly gentle gaze: "Let me, Yikong, be the sinner. Let me utterly and completely shatter this world. Lei Dong is right; restoration through destruction is the true path to saving the Winged God Clan."

Moments later, Yikong led his "squad" onto the fortress ramparts. He performed a perfectly standard salute of the Winged God Clan toward Andrew and gave him an enthusiastic embrace: "My friend, you have no idea the dangerous and fascinating things I’ve experienced this time. I’ve brought back so much that is interesting."

"But it was all worth it, wasn't it?" Andrew echoed warmly, laughing. "Hurry and tell me about the spectacular adventures you had along the way!" At his core, Andrew genuinely liked Yikong. He was well-traveled, his wings having spanned almost the entire Six Domains and Nine Continents, capable of recounting sights and tales few others had witnessed. Moreover, every time he returned, he brought a pile of gifts, making him very welcome. Though they had only known each other for a few years, Andrew felt as if they had been acquainted for half a lifetime.

"The most interesting thing was this," Yikong said with an innocently smiling face, sweeping his eyes over the hundreds of Light Cannons arrayed on the battlements. He leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "I intend to overthrow the rule of the Dawn King. I apologize, Andrew, I truly apologize, my friend."

"What?" Andrew couldn't process it immediately, his face registering utter shock. Before he could react further, a dark dagger plunged into his chest.

A violent surge of Yin Sha energy immediately engulfed his entire body. As he instinctively channeled his Light Power, the dagger violently detonated. Andrew, who was at the early Nascent Soul stage, instantly exploded from the inside out from the blast at his heart, his body torn to shreds by the rapidly expanding, formidable Yin Sha energy.

Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across Yikong’s pale white wings, yet his expression remained resolutely firm.

The entire fortress garrison consisted of only six Nascent Soul level Winged Gods and a hundred Golden Core level Winged Gods. This rotation also included over a dozen Golden Core level Winged Gods besides Andrew, who was at the early Nascent Soul stage. However, these were not the main concern. The truly troublesome force was the rotating battalion of the fifteen-hundred-strong Knights.

But the small squad Yikong brought was anything but weak. Though few in number, they were exceptionally powerful. Within these few individuals were Lei Dong, who had already reached the late Nascent Soul stage; Dongfang Fu, at the peak late Nascent Soul stage; the mute girl Mouchou, at the middle Nascent Soul stage; the Old Devil Baigu, at the middle Nascent Soul stage; the Old Monster Yinyang, at the middle Nascent Soul stage; and the Enchantress Meiji.

Each one possessed formidable strength. Naturally, their full power brought here extended beyond this count. In these past ten years, Lei Dong had accomplished many things aside from managing a Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land once.

The second major task was, as agreed, releasing the Old Devil Baigu and helping him find a young man with outstanding aptitude for corporeal seizure. Lei Dong genuinely appreciated the Old Devil Baigu. As soon as the old devil’s Nascent Soul emerged and he realized that less than a hundred years had passed, yet Lei Dong was already at the middle Nascent Soul stage, the old devil was instantly dumbfounded. He had originally thought that if Lei Dong managed to reach the Nascent Soul stage within the hundred years of his seal, it would already be incredibly impressive, worthy of his allegiance.

He never imagined that Lei Dong’s potential and strength vastly exceeded his expectations. When Lei Dong casually displayed the Black Serpent and the Divine Transformation stage puppet belonging to him, coupled with the guarantee that he could break through to the middle Nascent Soul stage in a short time—

The Old Devil Baigu did not hesitate long before agreeing to swear fealty to Lei Dong. However, Lei Dong knew that the Ghost Gu technique would not work effectively on the Old Devil Baigu. Therefore, once Lei Dong officially reached the middle Nascent Soul stage, he placed a restriction on the devil using a Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worm. He promised to remove this restriction once his main body broke through to the Divine Transformation stage.

As Lei Dong placed the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worm on the old devil, he felt a pang of emotion. When he was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had dared to boast to the Old Devil Baigu that he would place a Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worm on him, but the old devil, being timid, had outright refused Lei Dong’s suggestion for mutual restriction. Who would have thought that so many years later, the old devil would have to meekly submit to Lei Dong placing the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worm on him?

The second accomplishment involved locating the hiding place of the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worm King in the Evil Phoenix Region. Upon receiving this intelligence, Lei Dong disregarded everything else and immediately went to annihilate it. This fulfilled one of Lei Dong’s promises. Fortunately, this task did not hinder Lei Dong’s cultivation. After all, as long as he flew there on the airship, the nearly year-and-a-half round trip was almost entirely utilized for frantic cultivation within the Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land. Flying and cultivation are not mutually exclusive activities.

However, slaying the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worm King wasn't just about avenging Ah Chou. There were many other benefits. The greatest benefit was that the incident—Gui Ci reporting that Ah Chou sacrificed herself for Lei Dong, and Lei Dong tragically seeking vengeance against the Worm King, ultimately achieving great revenge for Ah Chou—sparked a fierce reaction among Lei Dong’s Phantom Ghost Army. This caused the reverence and loyalty of the Phantom Ghost Army, who had been intensely brainwashed and controlled, to surge dramatically once more.

The highly intelligent Ghost Clan members were not fools; following such a master meant they wouldn't have to worry about their deaths being without value, even if they died in battle. Their master would certainly avenge them.

The second benefit was a crystal core found within the Worm King’s brain. This object superficially resembled Lei Dong's Emperor Demon Seed but was fundamentally a completely different entity. The Soul Devouring Worm, in essence, was a demonic insect exceptionally adept at illusion, capable of creating various fantasies within a person’s soul to confuse the enemy, ultimately achieving the goal of effortlessly devouring their soul.

The greatest effect of this Worm King brain core was to drastically enhance the efficacy of (Gūhuò—bewitchment/seduction) techniques. And Lei Dong just happened to have a subordinate who specialized in Gūhuò techniques: Meiji...

Meiji’s combat strength was mediocre, but she excelled in illusions and charm arts. Charm arts are not simply about seductive posturing and alluring an enemy with beauty. Their essence is still a form of Gūhuò, a technique of mental confusion. When used well on the battlefield, it can be worth more than a thousand troops.

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