Chapter 256: Moral Rectitude

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 the news from his family himself.

The entirety of the winged race rose up in anger, and the white-winged emperor, who had been in secluded cultivation, emerged from his chambers. After understanding what had happened, he immediately invited the other two clan heads to discuss their next steps. That meeting lasted the rest of the day, with voices arguing incessantly—their opinions diverged in a fundamental manner, one that couldn't be reconciled.

The white-winged emperor naturally wanted the winged to rise up and take down Zhang Lie and even all of Earth, and he had called this meeting in order to discuss how to obtain reliable information about these limit fragments at the same time.

However, a rift developed almost instantly. The rainbow- and black-winged clans had no intention of fighting Zhang Lie; instead, they even wanted to repair the relationship between the Earthlings and the winged. Indeed, after killing Phoenix, Zhang Lie had mentioned that he would never help the winged while the white-winged were in power.

Zhang Lie had killed Phoenix on the battlefield of the Void Cup. Death was a risk all competitors who participated in the Void Cup understood; in theory, the winged had no basis for causing trouble for Zhang Lie and seeking retribution, but the winged could hardly take this insult lying down, and they were used to being one of the strongest.

Weak as the humans were, though, there were two points that the winged were forced to keep in mind: the strength of Earth's Martial Sage Hong Tianqi, along with the theory of limit fragments that had caught the galaxy by surprise.

The winged elders, therefore, took a different stance from the white-winged emperor and the rainbow- and black-winged clan heads. They desired neither war nor reconciliation, but rather a negotiation: passing some mild punishment on Zhang Lie while discussing terms by which they could obtain information about these limit fragments with Hong Tianqi.

The three factions, at odds with one another, caused the meeting to drag on without any resolution.

The white-winged emperor became more and more angry. Thumping the table, he roared out, "Quiet, all of you! As the emperor, I hereby use my vested authority. The discussion ends now. I don't want to hear any of your opinions any longer. After dinner, we'll set off for the capital of Ural. Even if this spawns war, that human brat will die!

"As for the limit fragments, it's best if we can acquire them, but if we can't, then we'll just destroy them. No one will have an advantage the winged do not possess. Do you all understand?"

It was clear that the white-winged emperor was furious. The vested authority to which he made reference was something that could be done only once in every emperor's reign, the power of absolute veto.

However, the subsequent development of affairs wasn't as he had planned. Moments after his announcement, the elders began to whisper to one another. As one, they stood up. "The elders unanimously vote to reject imperial authority!"

Even the emperor's power could be rejected given a unanimous vote from the council of elders in the winged's system of checks and balances; even the elders that were on closest terms with the white-winged had deserted him.

The elders weren't allowed to be part of any of the three clans, but these were members of the winged he had personally mentored and elevated throughout his career. How could they desert him now?

"What's the matter? Why do this? Against a race as weak as those puny humans, why do you refuse my right to avenge my son?!"

"The rainbow-winged clan leader stood up. "Honored white-winged emperor, we believe you are mistaken: the humans aren't uniformly weak. Indeed, the existence of Martial Sage Hong Tianqi alone should deter any offensives against them.

"Furthermore, our intelligence operatives report that the starbeasts' nine-star guards, the aquatic race's elders, and the nightdemons' night wardens have all gathered by the capital of Ural. Under such circumstances, launching an attack on Zhang Lie would be futile: even with all our strength, we could hardly hope to defeat all those forces.

"In other words, we can't touch the humans. If you raise the flag of war against them, you'll doom the entirety of the winged! As the emperor, surely you don't intend to sacrifice the entire race in a misguided attempt to avenge your dead son? If you persist in making this decision, then I, on behalf of the winged, challenge you to the seat of the throne!" the rainbow-winged leader called out.

The elders nodded in agreement. Most of the elders present could see the value of these limit fragments, and as long as that card was in play, they would side with the rainbow- and black-winged.

"A royal challenge? Are you all in agreement with the rainbow-winged, then?" The white-winged emperor stood up, a ferocious, threatening look on his face, causing the elders to look upon him with dissatisfaction.

One elder stood up and strode forward. "Honored white-winged emperor, this is a sensitive period. If the winged make a wrong move now, it could spell doom for our entire race. Please, I beg you to reconsider your stance."

The emperor only scoffed. "If the council of elders refuses to recant, then the white-winged clan will secede from the three-clan union. I'm going to avenge my son, and no one will be able to stop me!"

He smashed the conference table to smithereens with one fist, spread his wings, and prepared to fly off, but the moment he did so, two more figures appeared by his side: the clan leaders of the rainbow- and black-winged.

"White-winged emperor, regardless of whether you're in our union, you're a representative of the winged. If you dare touch Zhang Lie, reconciliation between the humans and the winged won't be a possibility. I apologize, but we can't let you leave!" the rainbow-winged clan leader called out, causing the white-winged emperor's eyes to widen in range.

"You mean to keep me under house arrest?! As the emperor of the winged, how can I do nothing about the murder of my son?!"

Now wasn't the time for diplomacy. In rage, the white-winged emperor took to the air and attacked the rainbow- and black-winged clan heads. He was stronger than both the rainbow- and black-winged clan heads, but that didn't mean he would be able to challenge them both simultaneously.

With the rainbow- and black-winged clan heads working together, even if they weren't able to defeat him, they could certainly stall him in place. And while they restricted him from acting, their subordinates began to restrain the white-winged forces.

The rainbow- and black-winged clans had been informed of the news last night, and they had made all necessary preparations before confronting the white-winged emperor. In just half an hour, the white-winged forces present on the planet were subjugated by the rainbow- and black-winged clans, leaving the white-winged emperor alone in his futile resistance.

Although the news of Phoenix's death were still making waves around the general populace, as long as the two clan heads restricted the white-winged emperor from fanning the flames of vengeance, things would quickly settle down.

On the other hand, Earth was in a state of extreme celebration. Zhang Lie and his team's victory had been transformative for the Solar System at large; in a fair match, Zhang Lie had managed to kill the young leader of the winged outright, subduing him in an unbelievable show of force, demonstrating the might and strength of mankind.

The moment Zhang Lie was crowned the victor of that match, almost every hunter on Earth found themselves cheering for him.