The City of Dawn, with its colossal and magnificent body, drifted slowly through the air. When we say slowly, it is only relative to swift transportation like the Light Skiffs. At full throttle, its speed was essentially comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator flying at full capacity.

However, to Lei Dong, such speed was tantamount to being stationary.

The King of Dawn and the three main host armies had all marched out. All that remained were the regular garrison forces. Yet, even these guards, coupled with the terrifying defensive capabilities of the City of Dawn, were not to be underestimated. Even the mighty three main armies would require considerable time to successfully storm the current City of Dawn.

And should the city come under heavy assault, the King of Dawn had the means to instantly return via the Great Teleportation Spell. Thus, the King of Dawn was not overly concerned about the city falling behind him being fiercely attacked.

But his excessive arrogance kept him ignorant of Lei Dong’s true objective in attacking the Bright Domain.

The Water of Life—while the abundant resources of the Bright Domain were certainly exhilarating to Lei Dong—the most crucial objective was the Water of Life. Obtaining it did not necessarily require a direct assault on the City of Dawn.

For instance, infiltration and theft would suffice.

After capturing a large number of Winged People, Lei Dong had already amassed nearly all the intelligence regarding the City of Dawn, especially after apprehending Sirius, the King of Dawn’s younger brother. Lei Dong even secured detailed maps of the temple within the city, as well as the location of the treasury vault storing the Water of Life.

Naturally, he also found ample defensive vulnerabilities.

...

At the same time, a small contingent of Winged People warriors, their armor filthy and tattered, utterly disheveled, flew towards the entrance of the City of Dawn, escorting a lavishly armored Winged Person in a ragged formation.

The garrison forces stationed there were the regular army of the Winged People race. Although their combat strength was inferior to the three main armies, they possessed unwavering loyalty and diligence to the King of Dawn. Despite the approaching group being of the same race, the leading general still roared out, "Who goes there? The City of Dawn is under martial law; no one is permitted to approach. Depart quickly, or we will open fire." The dense array of Great Light Cannons pivoted, aiming at the small, remnants-like Winged People unit.

"Insolent!" one of the Winged People in the contingent snapped, spreading his wings in fury. "We are escorting His Highness Sirius to audience with the King of Dawn. What right do you have? Have you grown the heart of a leopard? How dare you intercept His Highness Sirius?"

Sirius, with his late-stage Nascent Soul power, might not be famous across the entire Holy Bright Domain. However, within the Continent of Dawn alone, he was a highly renowned figure. The reason was simple: he was the King of Dawn's biological brother, exceptionally favored and trusted by the King. As a result, within the Continent of Dawn, Sirius virtually occupied a position just below the king, commanding all others.

The garrison general was greatly startled and strained his eyesight to look closely. Sure enough, the lavishly armored Winged Person, looking somewhat displeased, positioned centrally among the escort detail, could be none other than Sirius? But hadn't they heard that Sirius's Sky City had been destroyed? Could it be that Sirius wasn't captured but had escaped?

Still, the general was dutiful. He called out seriously, "It is His Highness Sirius. His Majesty has led the main army to annihilate the despicable enemy. Before departing, he ordered his subordinates that no matter who it is, the defensive barriers must not be lowered to allow entry. Your Highness Sirius, please understand."

Sirius’s face changed instantly, shifting to shame and rage. "You insolent fool! Open your dog eyes and look; I am Sirius, not some stray cat or dog. Hurry up and open the gate so I can enter!" Inside, however, he was filled with dread. If he couldn't deceive his way past the barriers and slip into the City of Dawn, he knew perfectly well what his ensuing fate would be.

Within the Winged People race, a civilization spiritually decayed, not every Winged Person feared death. There were still some with backbone, ambition, and ideals among them. But Sirius was decidedly not one of them.

Having lived under his brother's shadow since childhood, Sirius had, strictly speaking, never suffered any real hardship. Especially after his brother advanced to the Deity Transformation stage and became the master of a continent, his status skyrocketed; he got whatever he wanted, and no one dared to defy him.

Such an environment and experience naturally made it difficult for him to become a truly responsible individual. Consequently, under the abnormal methods employed by the terrorists under Lei Dong’s command, he yielded without much effort. Under the dual threat of the Ghost Gu and the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Worms, Sirius finally made the "difficult" decision to betray his brother in exchange for survival.

Furthermore, influenced by the silver-tongued rhetoric of Lei Dong’s faction, Sirius did not feel much psychological burden about selling out his brother to save his own life. After all, the others only intended to infiltrate the Temple of Dawn and steal some valuables. And his brother, the King of Dawn, was leading the main army away and wasn't in mortal danger. At worst, if they suffered a defeat, they could temporarily seek refuge with other kings.

He wasn't trading his brother's life, so Sirius betrayed him with a relatively clear conscience.

To Sirius’s surprise, however, the garrison general was clearly a stubborn fool, adhering strictly to the King of Dawn’s orders. Although he feared Sirius slightly, he adamantly refused to budge. "My apologies, Your Highness Sirius, but without His Majesty’s command, no one can enter at this time. If Your Highness Sirius can contact His Majesty and have him issue a direct order, there will be no problem."

Sirius cursed inwardly, but at this moment, he truly dared not contact his brother who was currently marching. If the lie were exposed, his life would be forfeit. At this point, he had no choice but to suppress his temper and begin to coax the guard. "How about this? Let my guards wait outside, and I will enter alone to rest. I barely escaped the rebels’ pursuit and am utterly exhausted; surely you can let me enter alone to rest? If you are worried, dispatch a squad of soldiers to monitor me. I will remember this favor and repay you handsomely later."

This? The general hesitated. After all, he genuinely did not want to deeply offend His Highness Sirius. Being resented by Sirius—was that enjoyable? As long as a squad monitored him to prevent him from causing trouble, it shouldn't be a major issue. Before, he had been worried that Sirius might use his authority once inside to disrupt the King's deployment. After thinking it over, the general finally agreed to open a small gap, allowing Sirius to enter the City of Dawn alone to rest. At most, they would dispatch troops to control him. A mere late-stage Nascent Soul, even if there were problems, couldn't cause a huge upheaval.

After some back-and-forth, Sirius finally achieved his goal and entered the City of Dawn. He was quite straightforward, actively requesting a large escort of soldiers to accompany him to rest, projecting an air of, "I just want to rest, not cause trouble." This actually made the general breathe a sigh of relief.

But the general never imagined that a certain individual was utilizing Spatial Distortion, combined with the Grand Heaven Concealment Technique, clinging to Sirius's back to gain entry. In this state, even a Deity Transformation expert would struggle to detect Lei Dong’s movements, let alone these relatively weaker garrison troops. The general, at most, was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Upon entering the City of Dawn, Lei Dong immediately shook off Sirius and proceeded alone. Based on the intelligence provided by Sirius and the other Winged People, Lei Dong had already memorized the map. He moved forward stealthily, passing through unchecked.

Spatial Distortion was indeed incredibly potent. As long as Lei Dong was careful and didn't move too quickly, it was exceedingly difficult for the enemy to discover him.

In a short while, Lei Dong bypassed numerous traps and obstacles, infiltrating the Temple of Dawn. He continued to evade the guards until he reached the exterior of the Treasure Vault. After a quick look, the seals above were indeed exactly as Sirius had described.

However, just as Lei Dong was breaking those seals and preparing to enter the vault, a piercing alarm that seemed to tear the eardrums suddenly blared. Lei Dong frowned slightly; he must have inadvertently triggered some hidden alarm mechanism.

This demonstrated that although Sirius was the King of Dawn’s brother, the King of Dawn did not necessarily trust his sibling without reservation. He had left a contingency measure in the most critical location.

This made matters slightly more complicated.

However, since Lei Dong had personally infiltrated the City of Dawn, even complications would not be too severe. The most troublesome aspect of this city was attacking it from the outside. Having intended to proceed quietly, but having his presence exposed, Lei Dong simply manifested his form and began forcibly attacking the vault door.

Hiss, hiss. Under the Might of the Underworld Immortal Slaying Finger, a passage was forcefully carved into the extremely sturdy vault door. Simultaneously, squads of elite Temple Guards rushed forward at high speed. Lei Dong merely offered a cold sneer, opened his Cavern Paradise, and released the several Deity Transformation experts he had prepositioned inside.

"Jie jie~" Having infiltrated the King of Dawn’s lair so smoothly, Xuan She seemed the most excited. It immediately transformed into its hundred-zhang serpentine body, making the wide passage feel somewhat cramped. With a flick of its snake-jaw, it inhaled, swallowing several fully armored Winged People into its gullet.

Meanwhile, Lei Dong rapidly flew into the treasure vault. With a mighty surge of his divine sense, he swept all the accumulated resources and artifacts within the chamber into his Cavern Paradise. Concurrently, a separate strand of consciousness searched for the Water of Life.

The Water of Life, even for the Winged God King, was an extremely precious item. Unless facing a bottleneck or severe injury, it would not be used recklessly.

Soon, Lei Dong located five bottles of the Water of Life in the inner chamber. What made his eyes light up was the sight of over thirty intensely spiritual gems placed in the narrow treasure room—Heavenly Spirit Stones. Lei Dong rejoiced inwardly.

...

Wishing everyone a happy National Day holiday, and today's two scheduled updates are now complete.