Inside the temple of the Lord of Spirituality and Radiance, flocks of Winged People were praying.

One could see that their pupils had turned completely white as their consciousness detached from reality and entered an unknown space.

As prayers filled the air, beams of light emanated from the main hall and spilled into the side palaces.

Here, several Winged People with white wings were also kneeling, all bearing very noticeable wounds.

Two of them appeared to be critically injured and near death.

One had both wings torn apart and a hole pierced his chest.

The other had lost a shoulder along with an arm.

These terrible wounds, inflicted in battle with monsters, were likely caused by Wing Demons.

A peculiar white light prevented their wounds from spreading or worsening, which is why they survived despite their severe injuries.

Even so, they didn’t seem like they could hold on much longer.

Nevertheless, they still knelt devoutly on the ground, continuously praying to their deity, as if utterly unconcerned about their impending death.

Under the illumination of that light, the wounds on these Winged People were slowly healing. In those who had lost arms and wings, their limbs and wings gradually regenerated.

“Lord of Radiance!” they cried out fervently.

This miraculous healing made these Winged People even more fervent in their devotion.

The language they used to call upon their deity did not belong to any known language.

However, at its root, the Winged People’s script could be traced to remnants of the Wisdom Script used by the Trilobite Men of the previous era, although the pronunciation differed greatly.

This was because their script originated from the massive Gate of Spirituality, which was created in imitation of the divine script inscribed on the gate.

The Winged People’s queen, Melde, knelt at the center of the crowd.

Her power continuously expanded as her ability surged, and the white wings on her back changed as her power extended.

Another pair of wings unfurled behind her, their smooth feathers imbued with the sacred power of spirituality derived from the initial power of ability.

A third pair of wings spread like a halo of light, tracing a perfect arc in the air as Queen Melde’s power reached its peak.

She was a Third-Rank Ability User.

She possessed three pairs of wings that were light and slender. They appeared incredibly holy and beautiful under the illumination, a beauty not of this world.

Each pair of her wings possessed a different power.

Queen Melde spread her arms wide and raised her chest as she proclaimed, “All Sky Messengers, give thanks to the deity!”

She welcomed the light that shone down from the Gate of Spirituality.

Other Winged People with God’s Form also channeled their powers before the Gate of Spirituality under the divine radiance of the Lord of Radiance.

The bodies of all Winged People became transparent in the light, revealing their true cores and powers.

Each Winged Person had a divine stone on their brow. It was usually invisible, but when they channeled their power, it transformed into sacred white patterns.

This divine stone was bestowed by the deity, the core of their power, and could even be said to be their most crucial part.

The stronger they became, the fewer vulnerabilities they had.

At Queen Melde’s level, as long as her brain and divine stone remained intact, it would be difficult to kill her even if everything below her neck were annihilated.

This was somewhat reminiscent of the abilities of witch spirits and alchemists.

They too were gradually breaking free from bodily constraints by transferring everything to the Lamps of Covenant and the Book of Witch Spirit.

After a night of prayer and chanting, the Gate of Spirituality opened wider, and the light grew increasingly intense.

Queen Melde and many Winged People finally stood up.

They sang hymns, their expressions solemn.

The temple doors opened, and everyone walked out singing hymns.

They guided the light toward the edge of the cliff.

Hundreds of Winged People maintained the connection between the mythical gate and the mortal realm. The light emanating from the gate resembled a white sun shining down on the cliff.

Queen Melde’s face was extremely devout, yet it also revealed a lofty indifference.

“Mortals!” she called out. “Welcome the deity’s bestowal! This is your sacrifice to the god, and also the sky’s trial for mortals.”

At the foot of Mount Fenbuk, thousands of Winged People were already waiting.

They waited for that white sacred radiance.

The city atop the mountain was like a heavenly realm, sacred, majestic, and beautiful.

Winged People with white wings wore soft, delicate feather robes and lived luxurious lives.

They wielded the power bestowed by the god and enjoyed life with lofty grace.

But at the foot of the mountain, conditions were utterly destitute.

This city, built in the shadow of the mountain, was composed entirely of dilapidated wooden shacks that housed tens of thousands of Winged People.

It was dark, damp, and impoverished, like hell compared to the heavenly city above.

The city at the foot of the mountain was inhabited by ordinary Winged People. These common people, with grayish-brown wings, had no proper clothing and ate very meager food.

Winged People survived by hunting.

Only the strong could conquer the sky and hunt fierce beasts.

They also gathered edible plants, and each person was as thin as a rake.

Some were refugees from other Winged People cities, some were abandoned elderly who could no longer survive, and some were severely injured or gravely ill.

There were also children born to the poor who had grown up here.

People who could no longer survive elsewhere came here every month.

They came here, craving the bestowal of the Sky Messengers from the Radiant City and praying for the protection of the Lord of Radiance.

Sky Messengers was the term ordinary Winged People used for those with white wings.

The Sky Messengers of Mount Fenbuk regularly distributed food to the poor in the city at fixed times, sustaining the lives of the weak, the poor, and the elderly while manifesting the grace of the god.

Every month, the Radiant City atop the mountain also conducted a Sky Trial.

This dawn marked the beginning of the Sky Trial, and the light shining down from the Radiant Temple signaled its commencement.

On the wooden platform, a group of Winged People scrambled to their feet, looking up at the mountaintop after waiting all night.

These Winged People were either gravely ill, severely injured from hunting, or had been born with or acquired physical disabilities.

They watched the dazzling white light shine down from the mountain peak, as if witnessing the redemptive light of the deity.

Their eyes revealed intense longing and anticipation.

In that light, they vaguely envisioned a great door leading to the divine realm.

“The blessing of the Lord of Radiance,” a Winged Person, already emaciated from illness, struggled to stand up, his pupils trembling in sunken eye sockets.

“Look, within the light is the great god,” said a tormented patient as he spread his brown wings. He tried to fly toward the sky but lacked the strength and began to wobble after flying only a few dozen meters.

A seemingly healthy young man also strived to fly upward, entering the white light.

“I must fly up,” he cried. “I too want to become a Sky Messenger!”

Hundreds of Winged People participated in the trial, all bathed in the light.

Within the light, the bodies of the Winged People slowly became ethereal. Their inherited bloodline wisdom from the first generation and latent power were refined in the light.

Merging into the light.

Merging into the mythical gate.

One by one, their silhouettes became transparent, completely dissipating into nothingness.

Only scattered gray feathers were left, floating down from the sky.

On that giant gate, hidden in the unseen light at the edge of the illusory and the real, one could see a tree-like pattern.

One could see that tree-like pattern.

Its trunk, branches, and leaves became slightly brighter.

As the intense white light dispersed, fewer than a few dozen people ultimately survived.

According to the Sky Messengers, those who disappeared had been called by the god, entering the deity’s realm and becoming one with the divine.

The few dozen who survived had all their illnesses and disabilities completely vanished.

Under the radiance of the god, they were reborn.

“I’m healed, completely healed,” one exclaimed.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m truly cured,” another marveled.

“This is the grace of the deity, the gift of the god,” they all proclaimed in wonder.

They circled at the foot of the mountain, shouting wildly and praising the god’s grace, while people in the city below looked on with envy. Thousands knelt on the ground, offering devout prayers to this miracle.

As for those who disappeared, no one paid them any attention.

Among those who underwent the Sky Trial, one experienced a peculiar transformation within the light.

Layers of flowing light emanated from his brow, and through the radiance he saw an enormous gate.

On the gate, he saw the wise species of the previous era: the Trilobite Men, the origin of all wisdom.

Although he did not understand what that strange humanoid creature was.

He understood even less the vastness and vicissitudes hidden within those images.

He only felt a powerful force in his brain that extracted his most fundamental essence.

It was something more important than his body, the source of wisdom and consciousness.

He first lost his memory.

Then he lost all desires.

Soon after, he even lost his wisdom, reducing him to an existence as ordinary as grass, wood, or stone.

But under the power of the mythical gate, by using his spirituality as the main component and fusing it with other powers, a stone was created in a way that only deities could comprehend.

At the moment the stone was born, his originally brown wings gradually lost their color in the light.

His ugly lower limbs and talons shed their feathers, transforming into long, strong legs.

He flapped his wings and soared into the sky.

Massive gates appeared before his eyes, and at the mountaintop, even springs and aqueducts appeared, along with various strange supernatural creations.

He saw powerful Wing Demons chained to pillars, and numerous Sky Messengers standing before the giant gates.

The Radiant City.

Only the messengers of the sky could ascend here.

And now, he stood here.

“I succeeded,” he exclaimed breathlessly. “I’ve become a Sky Messenger.”

The new Sky Messenger excitedly looked at his wings and touched the patterns on his brow.

In front of the Radiant Temple, a group of Sky Messengers spoke to the newcomer.

“Not bad, another Sky Messenger has been born,” one remarked.

“Your Majesty, the god’s grace this time exceeds last month’s,” another added.

“The god has sensed our devotion,” a third chimed in.

Other Sky Messengers came forward to extend invitations and welcome him.

Spirituality is the source of wisdom, the key connecting body and mind.

It is like a hub, linking each person’s wisdom and physical form.

The Sky Messengers’ power also originates from this.

Sky Messengers can manipulate spirituality to repair, alter, or even distort a life’s original form.

First-Rank Sky Messengers can heal their own injuries through divine techniques. Most notably, they transform into what they perceive as their perfect spiritual form—the form of a Sky Messenger.

Second-Rank Sky Messengers possess the power to heal others and can also easily destroy their bodies.

Third-Rank Sky Messengers possess a special form. Queen Melde once used this power to instantly strip countless beings of their spirituality, reducing all life to rotten flesh.

At the same time, they innately possess the power to control wind.

Undeniably, in every aspect, Sky Messengers are extremely powerful.

The new Sky Messenger was filled with unease.

He knelt reverently before the Radiant Temple, bowing to Her Majesty the Queen.

Her powerful stance with six white wings spread, her power transcending the mortal realm.

All of this made him tremble.

“Your Majesty, thank you for your grace,” he stammered.

The Winged People’s Queen Melde stared at him and spoke.

“It is the god who bestowed power upon you, who redeemed those who should have died, and who allowed you to merge with the Gate of Spirituality,” she declared. “New Sky Messenger, you should thank the deity.”

The new Sky Messenger hurriedly kowtowed toward the Radiant Temple.

“Great God Xia!” he cried out fervently.

As the Sky Trial ended, the Winged People’s Queen Melde finally withdrew her power.

Her three pairs of wings merged into one, the divine patterns on her forehead gradually receded, and her majesty and holiness diminished slightly.

As the mythical gate closed, the light flowing into the mortal world gradually dissipated.

The new Sky Messenger continued to kowtow in prayer before the Radiant Temple.

Melde turned away.

Other Sky Messengers bowed respectfully, staying in place to see her off.

“Let him kneel here,” she commanded. “Let him know that as a Sky Messenger, he should always hold the deity in the highest regard in his heart.”

The six-winged Sky Messenger, Melde, was sacred and beautiful.

She wore a pure white robe and had a perfect face.

But beneath her devout expression towards the god lay a lofty indifference.

The midday sun penetrated the curtains, shining upon the Winged People’s Queen Melde.

Melde examined a clay tablet, repeatedly checking to see if the text was correct.

The tablet was inscribed with Winged People script, which was their common method of writing and recording.

They made clay tablets, inscribing text on them with wooden knives before air-drying them for preservation. This method was very primitive but required no technology and was inexpensive.

Melde put the clay tablet aside and asked the Sky Messenger standing at the door.

“Has Duma returned?”

“She hasn’t attended prayers for days and even missed this month’s Sky Trial.”

“Where did she go?”

The Sky Messenger at the door walked in and said to the Winged Queen,

“Lady Duma went out on patrol, reportedly to the southeast.”

Melde nodded and said, “When she returns, tell her to come here.”

A figure soaring through a sea of clouds appeared in the sky above the Radiant City.

She swooped down from the cloud layer, landing before the gate of the Radiant Temple.

The young woman was the peculiar white-winged Winged Person that Yafuan had seen on the Avel Peninsula earlier, also known as a Sky Messenger of the Winged People.

After landing on the mountaintop, the young woman walked to the base of a pillar.

Chains were wrapped around the pillar, with the other end restraining a terrifying Wing Demon.

She stroked the neck of the enormous Wing Demon.

The Wing Demon raised its head and emitted a screech.

Immediately, colorful fluorescence flowed through its body, and its skin became crystal clear.

The young winged woman and the Wing Demon appeared to be very familiar with each other.

She even embraced the Wing Demon’s neck and closed her eyes, as if communicating with it mentally.

Among the Winged People, only the young woman had tamed Wing Demons through her special power, making these terrifying monsters obey her commands.

Snake People used divine techniques bestowed by the Mother of Life to form contracts with monsters and gain the power to control them.

But the Winged People never possessed any spirit-contracting divine techniques and could not tame these monsters at all. When they encountered monsters, they either killed them or were killed by them.

A Sky Messenger approached, bowed to the young woman, and said, “Lady Duma, you’ve returned.”

Hearing that her mother wanted to see her, Duma immediately walked towards the passage to the left of the temple, passing through several corridors before reaching Queen Melde’s chambers.

Melde asked Duma: “Why didn’t you attend the Sky Trial? You knew how important today was, yet you didn’t return in time.”

Duma looked at her mother and spoke with an utterly emotionless face.

“There’s no need for any Sky Trial. Our power can directly heal the illnesses of those people below,” she stated flatly. “There’s no need to select Sky Messengers either. You know better than anyone who can become a Sky Messenger.”

Melde knew Duma objected to the monthly sacrifices, which was why she deliberately avoided the Sky Trial.

“It’s all worth it,” Melde insisted. “Everything we do is for the great deity to awaken from slumber.”

Melde turned her head, looking out the window towards the Radiant Temple.

“Moreover, to be able to serve the great Lord of Radiance, to enter the realm of the god… Isn’t it our honor?” she asked, her voice filled with reverence.

Melde’s originally indifferent expression instantly changed to another face when addressing the deity.

The enormous mythical gate appeared before her eyes again, Melde’s gaze filled with reverence, longing, and also infatuation.

“This is a god,” she breathed. “If He awakens, we will be angels forever serving by His side. We will enter the realm of the god, stepping into eternity with Him.”

Melde turned her head to look at Duma, speaking to her most favored and cherished daughter.

“Duma!” she exclaimed. “You possess the purest and most powerful bloodline in this world. You are destined to become a messenger under the god’s throne. You shouldn’t question me, but help me realize all of this.”

Duma wanted to say something, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She always felt that their method of sacrificing to the deity might be wrong.

Could such sacrifices truly awaken the deity from slumber?

Did a true deity need such sacrifices?

Melde and Duma locked eyes, one filled with fervent devotion, the other calm with a hint of confusion.

Both mother and daughter wore cold expressions, but beneath the surface, different emotions and personalities stirred.

Melde asked Duma, “What exactly were you doing?”

Duma hesitated, unsure whether to share what she had seen on her journey.

But ultimately, she felt she must speak up.

She didn’t know if those strange tailed intelligent beings were friendly or evil, or if they posed a threat to the Winged People.

As a member of the Winged People and the Queen’s daughter, she felt obligated to inform her people of this potential threat.

“I saw some strange beings,” Duma began. “They have upper bodies like ours, but with tails below. They are intelligent, with their own language and writing, and they possess supernatural powers different from ours. But I’ve never seen such beings before, and we’ve never heard of their existence.”

Except for the first generation of Winged People, none had ever seen the Snake People.

After those first Winged People died, they left no records of their past. All Winged People were completely unaware of their origins, let alone the existence of Snake People.

Melde looked at Duma and asked seriously, “Are you saying you encountered another intelligent species? How is that possible? We are the only intelligent species in this world.”

This was the belief of all Winged People inhabiting this land.

“But I really did see them,” Duma insisted.

Melde was silent for a long time before finally saying, “I understand. This matter must be investigated. You may go rest now.”

After Duma left, Melde immediately walked through her private corridor.

She entered the Radiant Temple and began praying to the deity once more.

Her spirituality synchronized deeply, her consciousness gradually leaving the mortal realm and entering another domain.

“God of Dawn and Dusk, Eternal Lord of Radiance,” she intoned. “I await your guidance. Why has another intelligent species appeared in this world? What does their presence signify? Is this your will?”

The entity within the Gate of Spirituality, after countless sacrifices, seemed to have gained some spirituality and wisdom.

At this moment, the being inside the gate actually spoke.

The voice was chaotic, fallen, and evil, speaking in unclear and difficult to understand words.

But to Melde’s ears, this voice was incredibly sacred and melodious.

Because it was divine guidance.

In her eyes, she saw the most beautiful scene in the world, a great being extending its hand to her, accepting her with certainty.

“Walk… the path of wisdom… open… the gate of eternity.”

“Spirituality, wisdom, desire… knowledge, our… truth…”

“Original sin, truth, myth… the person in the bottle…”

“Recover… everything from the past.”

“My… wisdom…”

Finally, the voice let out a roar that shook the heavens.

“Xiao.”

Xiao was the Trilobite Man pronunciation.

In the Winged People’s language, this word was pronounced as Xia.

Melde saw the patterns on the gate light up one after another, the entire Path of Wisdom illuminated in sequence.

Melde felt a force envelop her, not only pulling her consciousness to another world.

Even her body began to disappear from reality.

In the darkness, Melde looked up and found the mythical gate before her had grown dozens of times larger.

She had left the mortal realm and stood directly before this gate.

Melde was overwhelmed with emotion.

Her eyes even became moist, something that hadn’t happened since she first opened this mythical gate.

“God!” she cried out. “Have you summoned me again?”

She took steps to ascend this great gate, almost entering the mythical gate itself.

But she stopped at the threshold.

Her hand touched the mythical gate, and she could no longer move.

Melde had touched the forbidden, and some of the knowledge inscribed on the Gate of Spirituality flowed into her mind.

She saw the Sun Cup, she saw the Spirit Activation Technique, she saw the method of Summoning Divine Technique Imprints.

These were sacred rituals from the previous era.

In this era, they no longer needed the Sun Cup, nor did they need to summon Divine Technique Imprints.

But the knowledge that followed was entirely different.

She saw the method of advancing from Third-Rank to Fourth-Rank.

The Art of God’s Grace of the Trilobite Men.

The divine technique left behind by the first Sage of Truth, Sandean, and perfected by his student, Lan.

Melde saw an ancient sacred temple.

In the temple were countless stone tablets, innumerable powerful divine techniques, the highest level of divine knowledge of a civilization.

An ancient stone tablet was inscribed with text Melde didn’t recognize, but the tablet immediately transformed into a mental transmission force, directly imprinting the text into her mind.

Melde was completely stunned. She had never imagined there was an even greater power beyond Third-Rank.

“What is this?” she wondered. “To touch the power of deities with a mortal body?”

Melde looked at the mythical gate, tears finally flowing from her eyes.

“Is this the grace you bestow upon me, Lord of Radiance?” she asked. “Do you… want me to become your apostle?”

Third-Rank was already the limit of mortal power. Fourth-Rank was the process of mortals transforming towards myth.

One of their organs would become a mythical organ, possessing life beyond limits and power transcending the mundane.

And Fifth-Rank demigods…

One look at the majestic gate before her was enough to understand the power of demigods.

Melde felt herself fall from the darkness the moment her hand released.

She reappeared before the divine statue, kneeling at the altar of the Lord of Radiance.

Melde looked at the statue, raising both hands high.

“I was right,” she declared. “This is the grace bestowed by the deity, a reward for me.”

She cried out excitedly, her voice trembling, “Look! The deity is gradually awakening from slumber.”

City of Avel.

King Sidi looked at Yafuan, saying in disbelief, “You discovered beings that might be Winged People? How is that possible? In the myths, those Winged People should all be dead. How could they still appear?”

Yafuan shook his head, “I can’t be certain if they were Winged People, but she definitely had wings.”

King Sidi replied, “Having wings doesn’t necessarily mean they’re Winged People. Could it be an apostle of some deity who left their realm and happened to be walking among mortals when you encountered them?”

King Sidi offered this speculation, but no one could answer.

“The most important thing now is whether the appearance of this strange person will have any impact on us,” he continued. “Is she alone, or is there another group?”

Yafuan and King Sidi discussed for a long time but ultimately reached no conclusion.

They knew too little. It was difficult to gather more information or formulate a response based solely on seeing a winged woman.

King Sidi said, “Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll send people to investigate this matter. But Yafuan, shouldn’t you be close to breaking through to Third-Rank? If you become an upper witch spirit, we won’t need to panic even if something happens.”

Yafuan nodded, “It’s close.”

“Are you confident?” Sidi asked seriously.

“Your Majesty, rest assured. I’ve made all the preparations,” Yafuan replied.

He returned to the Temple of Knowledge and took out his Book of Witch Spirit.

The Book of Witch Spirit was already filled with various divine techniques, some learned by Yafuan, others created by him.

These pages of divine techniques merged together, faintly emitting light.

When all the divine techniques in the Book of Witch Spirit fused together, they would form a Page of Truth.

That was the power of an upper witch spirit.

“It’s time to break through,” Yafuan said.

He had advanced from First-Rank to Second-Rank through Xiuborn’s legacy and gained control of the Divine Artifact Polik’s Right Hand.

After so many years of accumulation, he believed he was ready.

It was finally time to break through. He was confident that the variety of divine techniques he had mastered and the Page of Truth he had formed would surpass the former Xiuborn, granting him even greater power.

Third-Rank was already the peak combat strength on Ruhe Beast Island.

In Yafuan’s view, if he could become an upper witch spirit and make good use of the power of the Divine Artifact Polik’s Right Hand, he would have nothing to fear even if he encountered any crisis.