With Ye Mo's surrender, the entirety of Team Zenith had made it past that day of competition with no accidents or surprises. They then continued to watch the footage from the competitors they would likely be facing in the upcoming days.

While observing the winged's footage, however, Zhang Lie was a little surprised. In comparison to Team Zenith's dominance, the winged had performed rather terribly. The six-man team entering that day's competition had dwindled to two by the end, leaving only Phoenix and Hong Yu behind.

Perhaps intentionally or otherwise, the winged competitors made a blunder during their fights that allowed their opponents to reverse the tide and win in a surprise victory.

"What's going on? Are the winged putting on a performance?" Yang Ze asked.

"Of course—what else could they do? If they don't lose now and end up facing us tomorrow,they know we very well might kill them," Fang Yi murmured, laughing.

Phoenix had commanded them to kill whatever human competitors they encountered, but Hong Yu had analyzed that their survival rate against the humans wouldn't be higher than twenty percent. In other words, they had an eighty-percent chance of ending up like Ali—or worse! They were thankful enough that none of them encountered the humans that day, but as the tournament progressed, encountering a human opponent was almost inevitable.

As a result, the only solution would be to lose on accident before they reached that point.

"I have to admit that those fellows are quite clever, but this does show that the winged aren't all united against us. If we encounter Hong Yu, don't try to kill her. Perhaps we'll be able to give the winged a small token of our appreciation, instead," Zhang Lie schemed.

Surprisingly, the humans had become the best contender for the Void Throne by this point in the match,representing seven of the twenty-five competitors still remaining, followed swiftly by the four major clans, with two representatives from the winged, six from the starbeasts, five from the aquatic, and five from the nightdemons.

None of the other top races had managed to squeeze into the top twenty-five at all.

Tomorrow would determine the top twelve competitors remaining. Following the dramatic reduction in the number of competitors, the matches would no longer be held simultaneously; instead, they would all take place sequentially on the main stage, on which the entire audience's attention would be gathered.

Of course, as the pool of competitors was reduced in size, the members of Team Zenith would be more and more likely to face each other, almost an inevitable occurrence. Having planned for this, Zhang Lie instructed everyone to try their best and to show off their strength and improvement in this period of time.

That night, the roster for the next day was released. When he saw the first matchup, Zhang Lie smiled with his teeth.

Zhang Lie VS Phoenix

The members of Team Zenith's eyes brightened as they saw that matchup, understanding that Zhang Lie would deliver payback on Chu Feng's behalf the next day. Whether or not Phoenix would remain alive by the end of that match would depend on Zhang Lie's mood. They hated that they didn't have the ability to manipulate time, to make tomorrow come sooner, to see Phoenix cowed, begging, and kneeling by Zhang Lie's feet.

The other matchups, in contrast, were far less interesting, even the fight between the two Sun siblings.

Fang Yi VS Hong Yu

Sun Mengmeng VS Sun Xiaowu

Zhou Ying VS Pu Dongcheng

Li Feng VS Lian You

Yang Ze VS Xing Hong

As they finalized their preparations for tomorrow's competition, however, Zhang Lie found a surprise visitor by his suite: Hong Yu.

"I apologize for the late-night visit, Mr. Zhang Lie," Hong Yu began respectfully.

Zhang Lie waved a hand. "No matter. Is there an urgent issue?"

Hong Yu smiled. "I'm here with regards to your match with Phoenix tomorrow, of course."

"At this point, do you think there's much to discuss? Phoenix will die. All you can do is to find a replacement for him as soon as possible!"

Hong Yu stilled. "Please, you misunderstand me. I'm here tonight to request that you at least spare his life. After all—"

"After all, the winged is one of the four prime races, and for the good of Team Zenith and all of humanity, it would be better not to cause lifelong enmity between the two races?" Zhang Lie interrupted Hong Yu before she could continue. "This discussion is over. Phoenix will die. Instead, let's discuss what happens next. After Phoenix dies, I'll announce that, as long as the white-winged remain in power, I, Zhang Lie, will never work with the winged to develop limit fragments for their species."

Hong Yu looked toward Zhang Lie in shock. If he were to do as he claimed, the winged would surely devolve into internal schism the next day. The white-winged were strong, but with Zhang Lie's promise, the rainbow-winged and black-winged had sufficient reason to overthrow the white-winged and seize power.

"You heartless man," Hong Yu murmured, taking a few steps back in shock.

"For what Phoenix did to Chu Feng, I would see him and his clan suffer," Zhang Lie retorted grimly. "Indeed, Miss Hong Yu, you're the one who stands the most to gain from my venture. Don't you appreciate my goodwill?"

Zhang Lie whirled around and made to enter his rooms, leaving Hong Yu to walk out dispirited. A huge wave of competitors got out of the elevator and noticed her presence there, causing her mind to reel.

When Zhang Lie killed Phoenix tomorrow and announced that he wouldn't work with the white-winged, those competitors who had seen her would naturally assume her culpability in the matter, and she would have no choice but to go along with Zhang Lie's plan.

Indeed, if she were to take control instantly, she would be able to limit the impact the schism would have on the winged's overall strength, but if she were passive and allowed the situation to devolve naturally, the impact on the winged would be tremendous.

Hong Yu had no choice. She messaged her father about the information she had gleaned and prepared for the tumultuous dawn.