Their bloodlines were astonishingly close, as if they were full brothers; although their appearances differed greatly, the intimacy of their shared ancestry and the nearly identical aura they projected allowed Lei Long to challenge the pack leader and seize command of the entire group.

After initially tasting success while assisting Lei Dong in expanding his influence across the Great Barren Desert, Lei Long recognized that without subordinates, he was vulnerable to bullying—the incident in the Nine Nether Abyss was a prime example. Thus, he began wreaking havoc throughout the desert, subjugating various lesser dragons possessing the Flying Dragon bloodline. He managed to build a respectable cadre: over a dozen strange and varied dragon-blood descendants at the Nascent Soul stage, hundreds more at the Golden Core stage, and the majority, roughly ten thousand, at the Foundation Establishment stage. The number of cultivators at the Qi Refining stage was small, because any demon beast possessing even a faint trace of the Flying Dragon bloodline was no ordinary creature; once mature and surviving, they would invariably reach at least the Foundation Establishment level.

Those subordinates classified as Qi Refining cultivators were mostly underage descendants of the dragon bloodline.

All these subordinates submitted due to Lei Long’s pure dragon blood pressure, displaying a natural loyalty as if he were their ancestral pack leader. Of course, this allegiance wasn't solely due to blood ties; the most fundamental reason lay in Lei Long’s innate, overwhelming strength. A Soul Transformation stage demon beast—no other had yet been discovered in the Great Barren Desert. The status of a Soul Transformation beast carried significant deterrent power and influence, even over non-blood-related races.

One must not underestimate the potential of Lei Long’s fledgling force. Although its overall strength slightly lagged behind the Fierce Ghost Army, its potential for growth was substantial. This was merely Lei Long’s first step. After successfully establishing the Flying Dragon faction, he planned to conquer other demon beast races in the Great Barren Desert. Given his might, he was highly likely to become the supreme king of the Great Barren Desert’s beasts.

Moreover, the various dragon blood descendants had previously been scattered throughout the Great Barren Desert, surviving in small, fragmented groups. Except for a select few, the majority struggled immensely. This meant that despite possessing the lineage, they lacked the celestial treasures or fell prey to other races, preventing them from forming large-scale, powerful tribal entities.

If all the descendants of the Flying Dragon race were gathered under Lei Long’s banner, forming a unified whole, it would fundamentally alter the landscape, completely reshaping the structure of the Great Barren Desert. The Flying Dragon descendants would become countless times more dominant when competing for survival and cultivation resources against other demon beasts. Consequently, this race would snowball over time, growing exponentially larger.

Naturally, the remaining demon beasts would find their space continuously compressed under the dominance and encroachment of the Flying Dragon race. For these other beasts, the choice would be stark: either submit to Lei Long as the undisputed king of the Great Barren Desert, or perish after a desperate struggle.

Lei Dong highly appreciated this unintended method of forceful consolidation initiated by Lei Long, as it was one avenue for strengthening his own central group's power. Lei Dong was also immensely pleased that Lei Long had established his own power base. Initially, Lei Dong had encouraged Lei Long to declare himself king of the Great Barren Desert and bestow a royal title upon himself. However, Lei Long refused, claiming that since his sworn elder brother hadn't bestowed a title upon him yet, he, as a sworn younger brother, could not claim kingship first.

In the beginning, Lei Long’s feelings for Lei Dong were purely fraternal. Yet, as time passed and their brotherhood deepened, Lei Long was profoundly moved by Lei Dong's actions in the Nine Nether Abyss. Gradually, both emotionally and instinctively, Lei Long came to fully accept Lei Dong as his sworn elder brother. When they first met, Lei Dong was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Now, after only a few years, he had reached the late Nascent Soul stage and possessed the capital to contend with any major power. This reality caused Lei Long to follow his elder brother’s footsteps with sincere and unwavering dedication.

The only thing that brought a wry smile to Lei Dong’s face was the sheer variety within Lei Long’s dragon-blood descendants. Many of these demon beasts looked nothing like true Flying Dragons, yet they inexplicably carried the lineage. They were bizarrely mismatched and undeniably messy. But messiness aside, any creature with sufficient strength, even when charging in a mass, could form an incredibly potent beast tide. Furthermore, as the demon beasts increased in power, their intelligence would also grow, meaning they might someday form a disciplined demon beast legion. Lei Dong held high expectations for this possibility.

Naturally, Lei Long’s current beast army was still somewhat inferior overall, and he was unwilling to sacrifice his Foundation Establishment cannon fodder. Therefore, Lei Long only brought several hundred Golden Core level beasts and over a dozen Nascent Soul level beasts to offer aid.

Even so, this contingent was far from unimpressive. Led by the Soul Transformation stage behemoth Lei Long, they were capable of matching the Fierce Ghost Army blow for blow.

After successfully establishing his faction, Lei Long’s success drew the envy of Xuan She, the solitary Evil Phoenix Spirit Beast, who looked on with blatant admiration for such power and swagger. They were both at the Soul Transformation level—why did he have no subordinates? Once this current affair concluded, Xuan She would likely immediately sweep through the Nine Nether Abyss and the Outer Void, recruiting his own subordinates from the Netherworld systems. For now, however, Xuan She was confined to being a high-ranking Soul Transformation enforcer, having yet to taste the satisfaction of commanding an army.

Aside from Lei Long’s contingent, all other forces Lei Dong could muster were brought in—these were all Lei Dong's direct core forces.

For instance, there was the Earth Giant Army, into which Lei Dong had poured considerable effort over time. With Lei Dong’s relentless support, the Earth Giant race experienced incredibly rapid development and unification. To date, upon a summons from the Rock Tribe in the Great Barren Desert, at least thirty percent of the clans responded. This was understandable, as the Rock Tribe was not only powerful and extraordinarily rich in resources but also backed by the Lei Dong Group.

This was Lei Dong's first attempt at commanding the Earth Giant forces. In the end, under the call of Rock One, over ten thousand Earth Giants arrived—nearly thirty percent of all Earth Giants in the Great Barren Desert. Furthermore, of these ten thousand plus giants, at least three thousand were under the direct command of Rock One.

Thanks to the massive influx of resources from Lei Dong, and a final hundred-year intensive cultivation period spent within a Grotto-Heaven Paradise, the Earth Giant leader, Rock One, had broken through from the early Nascent Soul stage to the middle Nascent Soul stage. In time, if Rock One could advance to the late Nascent Soul stage, he would have a strong chance of unifying all Earth Giant tribes across the Great Barren Desert, truly forming an Earth Giant Kingdom that would provide Lei Dong with a continuous stream of high-quality troops for his campaigns. In the future, Lei Dong believed the Earth Giants would be no less formidable than the Fire Giants of the Purgatory Domain.

The Earth Giants inherited a rich bloodline from the War Giants and were inherently a wise, sentient race. This was a powerful race that had been overlooked. In the harsh environment of the Great Barren Desert, even a mature Earth Giant possessed Golden Core level strength. This demonstrated that given sufficient space and time, the Earth Giants would rise to become a dominant power, serving as Lei Dong’s most reliable right and left hands. Lei Dong's initial investment was clearly beginning to pay off.

Besides the Earth Giants, the guardian race directly under the Demon Emperor also formed another one of Lei Dong's core factions. When Lei Dong was still weak, attempting to completely control this powerful, untamed barbarian race was likely difficult. However, as Lei Dong’s strength surged exponentially, coupled with the tireless, silent support and ceaseless efforts of the Saintess Lan Qisi, this race had gradually begun to align with Lei Dong.

Currently, this inclination was mostly driven by the strong influence of Lan Qisi and the Prophet Kukas, as well as the attraction of Lei Dong’s personal strength and position to their interests. Because Lei Dong’s status as the Demon Emperor's successor remained somewhat concealed—known only to a few high-ranking members—it could not be revealed to the entire Guardian race, as doing so would easily leak and cause Lei Dong enormous trouble.

Even so, with Lei Dong's current power and prestige, relying on Lan Qisi and the Prophet Kukas's control over the tribes, he could mobilize this force without facing resentment or opposition.

Representing the Guardian race in this deployment was still the Saintess Lan Qisi, now accompanied by the Prophet Kukas. The army they led was composed entirely of the clan's absolute elite.

When Lan Qisi was still at the Foundation Establishment stage, she managed to unify the scattered Guardian race through her Saintess status and her own exceptional abilities, earning immense prestige within the tribe. Now, thanks to her innate talent and Lei Dong having invited her to participate in the recent century-long sojourn in the Grotto-Heaven Paradise, her cultivation had rocketed to the middle Nascent Soul stage.

Strength, combined with immense prestige and her Saintess identity, had transformed Lan Qisi into a near-goddess figure among the Guardians. Her influence and authority thoroughly overshadowed the Prophet Kukas, the tribal chief, and the various other power brokers. If she were to issue a call to action, restructuring the Guardian race, it was almost certain they would respond and rally behind her.

Lan Qisi understood what Lei Dong required; this was why she operated quietly away from his immediate presence, laboring to build up her influence within the Guardian race for so long. Her silent mission was to forge an army for Lei Dong whose loyalty and combat effectiveness were both world-class, helping her master and lord carve out a vast empire and place him upon the supreme throne, making him the most powerful and influential man in the world. This was not only the duty passed down through generations of Saintesses but also stemmed from Lan Qisi's personal devotion to Lei Dong and her fervent aspirations. She desired the man she served to be the strongest under heaven.