Fu'e of the magma demons stomped on the ground, causing rings of flame to flare all around him. The entirety of arena #4565 seemed, at that moment, like a volcano that had just exploded.

"[Tempest Cut]!" As the rings of flame surrounded him, Chu Feng slashed at his surroundings with his two blades, then rushed forward as quickly as the wind. His empowered attack managed to break through his opponent's defensive rings of fire and allowed him to rush up to him.

Fu'e was a crocodile that was covered in magma, and he was two meters tall even in a sedentary position. In truth, after sensing how strong his opponent's fluctuations in genetic energy were, Chu Feng was ready to give up, but he didn't want to surrender before testing out the waters.

"[Windward Sword]!" As he infused both his swords with all his genetic energy,they vanished from sight, along with Chu Feng himself, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in front of Fu'e. The caress of the wind was filled with sharp blades of sword energy, chipping off the magma surrounding his body and revealing his true form.

As the blades struck his flesh, Fu'e curled up in defense. 

Chu Feng's blow had been effective, but his face seemed unusually pale: this was his strongest technique, and all he had managed to do was to destroy part of his armor and give him a superficial injury!

"[Thunderflash Magma]!" Fu'e howled, the ground beneath him turning red as magma seeped into the ground. A pillar of burning-hot magma emerged by Chu Feng's feet.

"[Wings of Wind]!" Chu Feng extended his wings as he dodged, but the magma underneath him exploded in all directions. Amidst the thunderous explosion, Chu Feng wove through the obstacles and rushed to the exterior boundary of the arena.

The magma seemed to be endless; it would be difficult for him to return to the interior of the arena, let alone attack the other party. Chu Feng instantly surrendered, causing him to be sent out of the arena in a flash of white light.

"Not bad, but your opponent's defense was simply too strong!" Zhang Lie murmured.

"It is unfortunate, but this is ultimately a problem with my own strength," Chu Feng admitted. He glanced at the screens that Zhang Lie was looking at. Not including Zhang Lie, Sun Mengmeng, Fang Yi, and Zhou Ying had already won their respective matches, so they were all looking at the remaining competitors from Earth.

Most of them were focused on Yun Bing, who was struggling against her opponent; if not for the fact that her opponent was holding back, she would likely have lost already.

"What's going on? Why's Yun Bing trying so hard? She should just surrender!" Sun Mengmeng murmured, glancing at the trails of blood dripping down Yun Bing's snowy-white armor and causing Chu Feng to feel a sudden sense of dissonance.

Chu Feng and Yun Bing were young leaders of two of the leading clans of China, so when had they ever felt so helpless, so marginalized? Perhaps he was the only one who could really understand Yun Bing's circumstances...

"She wants to test her own limits," Chu Feng explained, his mind still in a mess.

Everyone turned to Chu Feng. The next moment, Zhang Lie shouted into his transceiver, "Yun Bing, that's enough! You've already proven yourself, so surrender and get back out here! There'll be plenty of opportunities in the future!"

"[Web of Scorching Flame]!"

"[Blade of the Mists]!" A mysterious blade, wreathed in mist, clashed against a gigantic web of flames, causing plumes of smoke to rise into the air. Yun Bing staggered back with yet another injury, but she had forced the magma spider, Fu Long, to use his full strength.

"[Formless Cloud]!" The moment the web of flames vanished, Yun Bing summoned hundreds of clones, which shot out toward the spider. Each of her clones felt like they were at full strength, with a dazzling sword in their hands. They shot straight toward Fu Long's eyes.

"[Arachnid Pyrolance]!" Fu Long called out, his twelve legs simultaneously manifesting lances of magma, which he shot into the air. The lances popped each clone they encountered as though the clones were balloons; they weren't able to withstand even a single blow.

Fu Long's legs trembled in excitement.

"An opportunity!" Zhang Lie suddenly murmured.

Indeed, almost as he spoke, a slender figure appeared right beside Fu Long, the longsword in her hand brimming with frightening energy. She touched Fu Long's thinly protected abdomen with the blade of her sword. If she were to attack him, Fu Long would be dead at worst and grievously injured at best. She called out, "Surrender, or die!"

Fu Long surrendered.

"A cloudrune crane soulshard... that was to be her trump card, but she used it in the first match!" Chu Feng mumbled to himself.

"Is that a peak-grade soulshard?" Zhang Lie asked, a little surprised. It wasn't unusual that the scions of the major clans would have peak-grade soulshards, but Zhang Lie didn't think that Yun Bing would be able to activate it. After all, past superior-grade, soulshards required particular care to acclimate to one's body before they were usable in battle.

In a flash of white light, the victorious Yun Bing appeared before the other competitors from Earth. She had overheard Zhang Lie's question, and she replied, "Yes, it's a peak-grade soulshard, part of the inheritance of the Yun clan!"

"An inherited soulshard, no wonder... I'd almost forgotten your background!" Zhang Lie handed her a potion. "Drink this, or you likely won't be able to make it to the second match."

Before the first match, Zhang Lie had emphasized that Chu Feng and Yun Bing would have a difficult time, and, indeed, Yun Bing's injuries vindicated his claim.

"Sorry, I—"

"Don't worry, it was a good fight, and you did manage to win. However, I might suggest sitting out the second match in your condition."

"Yes, I understand!"

Ultimately, whether or not she took Zhang Lie's advice was none of his business; she was a competitor in her own right, and she could do what she thought best.

At the same time, the other members of Team Zenith returned victorious, leaving the competitors from Earth with a total of eight wins and one loss. The only competitor who had lost, Chu Feng, lowered his head gravely.

After the first match would be an hour-long recuperation period before the second. As the other hunters meditated, drank potions, and applied various salves to themselves, Zhang Lie scrolled through the fights of the young leaders of the four prime races.

He was certain he would have to face them as opponents eventually, so this was a good opportunity to learn more about them. It was true that they wanted to get into his good graces, but they certainly wouldn't be willing to give up the Void Throne for that.

The first recording he watched was of Phoenix, who was fighting against an opponent from the aquatic race—if he were right, she was one of the attendants of Lianna, princess of the aquatic race. However, in just two blows, Phoenix had managed to deal her what would otherwise be a lethal blow, and she surrendered.

After observing Phoenix's match for himself, even Zhang Lie had to admit that this prideful and arrogant youth was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Phoenix was fast, so fast that even his opponent could barely keep up with him, and Lianna's attendant had lost before she could convert the arena's terrain to her advantage.

Next was Pu Kui. She faced a relatively weak opponent in her first match, and won handily without revealing any of her abilities.

Third was the panda-like creature from the starbeasts. Zhang Lie's eyes widened as he watched the footage: the panda was a paragon of lumbering strength. His opponent, just like Chu Feng's, was what seemed to be a magma tortoise, whose strength was in defense. However, one blow from the panda was sufficient to crack the tortoise's shell, and the tortoise ultimately surrendered amidst pained howls.

The panda's blow was so strong that even the space around the arena seemed to ripple as the blow made contact.