Yan Long swore at the sight, his aura causing his body to glow with heat.  "Zhang Lie—"

"I know what to do, Commander Yan," Zhang Lie replied coolly. He messaged Fang Yi, who was fighting against Ali of the winged.

"Fang Yi, both of Chu Feng's arms were crippled by Phoenix, who didn't give him a chance to surrender. Let's pay him back, shall we? Cripple your opponent!"

On arena #0145, where Fang Yi was trying to probe Ali's abilities, his face suddenly darkened as he heard Zhang Lie's words. No wonder Ali had seemed so vicious! Fang Yi thought that it was just one of Ali's tactics for destabilizing his resolve, but now...

He suddenly stopped moving. Stomping his foot, lightning crackled all over the arena. Chu Feng wasn't a member of Team Zenith, but he was a representative of Earth. If Phoenix wanted to declare a war between the humans and the winged, he would have it.

Fang Yi immediately activated his stormward albatross, thunderflash mantis, and blood ant soulshards, turning him into a gigantic blood-red albatross. Scarlet lightning crackled all around him; he stood at the eye of a thunderstorm.

Ali, who was hastily retreating, found himself caught by a pair of sharp claws. The reason Fang Yi and Ali's match had dragged out so long was because of Ali's speed, but that advantage was now negated after Fang Yi's transformation.

Panicking, Ali shielded himself with his wings. His genetic energy took the form of feathers, which coalesced into a gigantic sword with which he defended himself.

The sword resisted just one blow before exploding into pieces. A bolt of lightning crashed into Ali's body, far stronger than what Fang Yi had demonstrated previously, stunning him into paralysis. With Fang Yi's strongest soulshards being activated simultaneously, he was far stronger than Ali could imagine.

As Ali's body fell to the ground, the albatross dove down, a ball of crackling red lightning gathering by its beak. It was evident that he was trying to finish Ali off while he was stunned.

"[Avatar of the Winged]!" Seconds before impending death, Ali used the blood pooling by his lips to trace out a runic formation on his body. White, dazzling splendor covered his body as the albatross reached him, covering them both in a field of lightning. 

"Ah—Ahhh!"

"Ali's surrender has been initiated by his team leader, and this match will be forcibly terminated!" As Ali screamed in pain, the two competitors were teleported into their respective waiting rooms.

Ali's arms, over which he had traced the runic patterns with his own blood, had turned into smoking lumps of charcoal from bearing the brunt of the red lightning, and his chest and the upper half of his body wasn't faring much better. Indeed, if not for the gradual rise and fall of his chest, the other winged competitors would have thought him dead.

"What are you waiting for? Summon the medics!" Phoenix shouted. "How did this damn ant get so strong? He had to have consumed some restricted potion!"

The other winged competitors didn't dare speak.

The medics quickly arrived and brought Ali off, causing the victorious winged competitors, just having returned from their matches, to suddenly turn fearful. Perhaps Hong Yu was right, perhaps the humans really were a force to be contended with...

However, by this point, their personal beliefs were irrelevant, because their young leader, Phoenix, had roused mankind's ire. Ali's opponent had clearly been prepared to kill him; if Phoenix hadn't arranged Ali's surrender in time, he would be dead.

Most of the winged weren't half as strong as Ali, and if even Ali couldn't defend himself in front of them, what would they be able to do? Were they to surrender immediately? Would their opponents give them that chance?

Phoenix had already forced their hand.

The third round of the galactic stage was still proceeding in earnest; other than Fang Yi, only Sun Mengmeng and Yun Bing had returned from their matches. When they learned about what the winged had done to Chu Feng, they were likewise enraged.

"Where's Chu Feng? How's he doing now?" Yun Bing, his closest friend, asked.

"Commander Yan Long just sent word that his condition has stabilized. His left arm's gone, but he did keep half his right," Zhang Lie replied, clenching his fists.

"These damned birds! I'll teach them a lesson if I encounter them during the tournament!" Sun Mengmeng cried out.

"Kill them. Make them regret ever having antagonized us," Zhang Lie replied coldly, causing both Sun Mengmeng and Yun Bing to shiver. This was the first time they had ever seen him so angry, and the same thought flitted through their heads—this would spell the end of the winged race.

"Yun Bing, go see Chu Feng. Under these circumstances, perhaps only your presence will do him some good. I'll seek revenge on his behalf, and I'll try to find a solution for his limbs."

"I will," Yun Bing nodded stiffly.

Yun Bing left, leaving Sun Mengmeng, Fang Yi, and Zhang Lie in the room.

"Zhang Lie, don't blame yourself too much. No one could have predicted that the winged—"

"No, we could have. I should have noticed that the relationship between our two races have never recovered; the apology at the banquet had happened only because of Hong Yu, and it didn't represent the position of the winged race as a whole. And as for the position of the winged's team leader, Phoenix... we'll watch the footage of his match together once everyone's back."

He turned his attention to the other members of Team Zenith, still struggling through their matches. Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng didn't say anything. No matter what Zhang Lie had them do, they would carry it out without fail.

The remaining competitors were all fighting a protracted fight in order to get a chance to observe their opponents' racial characteristics.

One of the reasons the alien races were so strong was because of these characteristics, which gave them advantages over regular humans. As a result, most competitors would try to draw out the match to get their opponents to show as much of their strength as they could; they might very well encounter another member of that race further into the tournament, and any additional knowledge would be to their advantage.

On arena #1870, two oceans were clashing against each other. 

Lianhua of the aquatic had been incited to anger. "Human, you'll pay for your pride!" she called out, flicking her wrists. A mirror appeared underneath her feet, with countless aquatic creatures swimming agilely beneath her.

Yang Ze had seen none of these creatures before, and he suspected they were native to her home planet.

"[Reflection of the Ocean: Hundred Beasts' Offensive]!" As the mirror tilted into an upright position, the aquatic creatures within swam out toward Yang Ze like a flood. The hundred beasts that the name of the technique promised was a drastic underestimate; there seemed to be thousands, even tens of thousands.

Since the start of the match, the human opponent she had faced had been carefully countering and neutralizing her blow. Each attack was met with an attack of equal strength. After exchanging a few blows, Lianhua discovered what her opponent was doing.

Did he think that this would work against one of the aquatic?!

"You want to see my racial advantages, don't you?  Observe it carefully, then!" A thousand aquatic lifeforms surged toward Yang Ze.