The remainder of the trip back to the hotel passed without incident. In fact, during the entire "ambush", Zhang Lie hadn't even seen any of the attackers; they were easily dispatched by his retinue of guards with nothing more than a few muffled curses.

How good it felt to have such dependable allies!

After returning to the hotel, Zhang Lie dove straight into the simulation chamber and began analyzing his techniques. The variant of [Fists of the Silent Sea] that he had used during his match against Phoenix, in such an energy-rich environment, had given him new insight which he itched to incorporate in greater depth.

Meanwhile, the winged were stirring. When the news of the terrible event that had taken place reached the winged, most thought it nothing more than a rumor, even when footage of the match was shared—until a white-winged guard heard...