Chương 364: Three versus one!

In terms of speed, Long Feng was superior to Bai Zijun. From the moment he gained the upper hand, he used his speed to gradually overwhelm Bai Zijun, forcing him to defend himself. While it meant he also couldn't unleash a sufficiently powerful strike, what mattered was that he held the upper hand. But that was just it. If he wanted to defeat Bai Zijun, he would have to suppress the matter more than this. The sky became a canvas stained by different colors— dark red, white and occasional black.

The awe inspiring scene was visible even to the gathered peak Imperials who were watching the fight from the distance, and they could only sign in marvel at the shocking strength on display while wondering which of the ten deities were fighting. Zhou Zheng's eyes were filled with nervousness as he stared into the sky and noticed the flames being completely suppressed by the sword intent.

"This is bad… How is this brat so strong? He's even a bit stronger than Bai Zijun!?" The youth beside him had a solemn expression as he watched the battle.

"I underestimated him. You're right… this kid is a huge threat."

"What do you propose? Bai Zijun won't hold on for more than a hundred moves! We need to keep this Long Feng here for good!" The youth narrowed his eyes briefly before glancing at Zhou Zheng.

"You're right. Bai Zijun is slowly losing ground. He can't kill this brat alone." Zhou Zheng's eyes widened slightly.

"You mean? …"

"Yes. With the three of us together, we have a hundred percent chance of burying him here today!" The youth affirmed seriously. Slight hesitation appeared on Zhou Zheng's face as he turned his attention back to the fight in the sky.

"But… for three of us to fight a single kid… our faces will be dragged through the mud!"

"He cut off your arm, and you're still worried about your face?" The youth scoffed. Zhou Zheng's face darkened as he recalled the loss and pain of his arm. His suppressed hatred rushed to his head and he nodded heavily.

"You're right. He must die an ignominious death today, or I won't ever be able to rest easily!"

"Good. Let's go! No holding back anything!" The youth nodded as well and soared towards the fight. Zhou Zheng trailed closely behind him with roiling killing intent surging around him. Bai Zijun's face was dark as he struggled to block the sword moves that appeared out of nowhere. The sword was completely unpredictable and each strike was delivered with ruthless precision and control, offsetting his momentum. Without doubt, Long Feng's skill with the sword was beyond average.

As he was struggling, he suddenly sensed the auras of the two other deities as they joined the fray. Long Feng's eyes flashed coldly as he was forced to step backwards to dodge a beam of golden light from hitting his chest. That single act allowed Bai Zijun to retreat and catch his breath, and Long Feng didn't pursue. Instead, he floated there and faced the three deities with a thin smile. Before he could speak, rage coloured Bai Zijun's face as he turned to glare at both Zhou Zheng and the youth.

"Bastards! Who asked you to interfere in our fight!" He roared. Even though their interference saved him, he wasn't pleased or grateful. If anything, he was brimming with rage.

"What are you talking about? You can't kill this brat alone! He can leave anytime he wants to. We need to work together to kill him here!" Zhou Zheng retorted with a frown. Bai Zijun's eyes nearly spat fire as he glared at the latter.

"What did you say?" Their words and actions were the same as admitting to the fact that he was weaker than Long Feng! Wasn't that a huge insult to his name? How could he of all people lower his pride to join two others just to fight someone much younger than him? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Even if nothing, his pride as a genius wouldn't allow that! To think they could actually bring up such a demeaning idea?!

"Bai Zijun, calm down and look at the bigger picture! You want him dead and we want the same, but you can't kill him on your own. Together, we'll end him here. No one will ever find out about it and we'll get rid of a common threat!" The youth explained. Bai Zijun's rage decreased slightly as he regained his calm and thought through their words. As he recalled how he was suppressed, a bitter feeling appeared in his heart and he couldn't help but admit that he really wouldn't be able to kill Long Feng!

What puzzled him was how Long Feng had suddenly grown so much stronger in less than two months, and without any consequences? The strength he had revealed was only inferior to that of Qiu Yushi and slightly superior to both Bai Zijun and Situ Hong! Taking a deep breath, he lowered his gaze and said nothing else, although the uncomfortable feeling never left his heart. Long Feng chuckled after their conversation.

"Three versus one? How heroic of the top ten outer peak geniuses!" He mocked lightly while tightening his grip around his sword. His heart was already tense as he faced the trio. Before they even exchanged blows, his aura was already suppressed by the combination of their auras. He already had the thought of retreating at any moment, but he didn't feel right just leaving without seeing his plan through to the end. It wasn't like all hope was lost. He still had a chance… depending on his next actions.

"Come on then. Let me witness the grandeur of your team!" He flourished his sword and taunted coldly. Bai Zijun's eyes flickered coldly.

"Use your metal Dao to restrict his sword." He spoke, referring to the youth first.

"Zhou Zheng, try to overwhelm him with your earth Dao. Let's not draw this out any more than it already is." The other two acknowledged his words silently before spreading out and rushing at Long Feng in a pincer formation. Long Feng's mind was running at 120 percent capacity as he focused on their movements. His sword intent exploded as he gathered his energy into his sword and prepared to defend. Just then, the youth grinned ferociously.

"Using a metal weapon before a metal Dao cultivator… tsk. Foolish choice." He clenched his fist with his attention on Long Feng's sword. Instantly, Long Feng's energy flow was disrupted as the sword in his grasp began to vibrate intensely, struggling to escape his grasp. His expression instantly tightened.

'He cultivates the Dao of metal, and as a deity, dealing with my Imperial grade sword is too easy!' he realized with a cold feeling.

"Sword of Infernal judgement!" Bai Zijun chose the exact moment when Long Feng was caught off guard by the youth's ability to unleash an attack. The huge flaming sword appeared and swung down upon Long Feng with an intent to destroy. Feeling threatened, Long Feng didn't dare to let this attack touch his weak body even a bit. He used his full strength to suppress the struggles of the sword without trying to defend, knowing fully well that he couldn't. He didn't fight the flames—he vanished.

A silver blur left an empty space where he had stood a millisecond before. Just as he vanished, the sword swept through the spot he was standing at, warping the air from the immense heat. Long Feng reappeared behind the trio silently, his ghost-like movements leaving the three youths feeling heavy-hearted. The youth continued manipulating Long Feng's sword to prevent him from using it while unleashing his golden burst of energy.

Dozens of different golden weapons appeared behind him, their tips dazzling with a piercing glow that could render body protection useless. The weapons shot through the air, generating whistling sounds as they shot towards Long Feng. Unfortunately, the grand attack missed; Long Feng easily dodged and reappeared elsewhere like a ghost. Several more attacks missed their target as the battle entered a strange standstill.

Long Feng wasn't attacking at all, only dodging the waves of attacks that bombarded him, but his speed allowed him to control the situation to some extent and force a draw. No matter how powerful their attacks were, they would all amount to nothing if they couldn't even touch Long Feng. Speed was the only skill that could bypass almost any situation and grant near invincibility to a warrior. Minutes later, the three deities were frustrated to their limits after failing to hit Long Feng even once.

"Damn it! Why is this brat so hard to kill?!" Zhou Zheng roared in frustration.

"It's his speed! As long as we cannot restrict his movement, we'll still not be able to defeat him!" The metal Dao youth assessed solemnly. Zhou Zheng's eyes instantly lit up slightly.

"Restrict his movements… I can do that. But the normal method will affect you all, making it not suitable for this situation." He said this through voice transmission. The normal method he was referring to was naturally the gravity lock, which could multiply the gravity in a certain area. Everyone within that space would be affected except for him the caster. Using it here would restrict Long Feng but the same restriction would apply to Bai Zijun and the metal Dao youth.

"Well, do you have another method?" The metal Dao youth asked irritatedly.

"I do." Zhou Zheng replied with no hesitation.

"But I'll need a minute."

"What're you waiting for! Do it!" Zhou Zheng nodded and began to form hand seals with his remaining right arm, causing minor fluctuations of energy to resonate in his body. Bai Zijun and the metal Dao youth continued to unleash several attacks against Long Feng while he dodged every single one of them. Two minutes passed and Zhou Zheng made the last hand seal before pointing three fingers at Long Feng who just dodged a flame ring.

A murky brown seal shot out of Zhou Zheng's fingers and shot towards Long Feng at a speed beyond his reaction time. Even with his speed, he wasn't able to dodge as he was caught off guard once again and the seal crashed into his body. Long Feng's expression changed as he retreated and scanned through his body for any strange changes. He found nothing and frowned while staring at Zhou Zheng.

"What was that?" He asked coldly. He was only barely holding his own against their combined strength using his speed. He would've lost already in a direct exchange, and any unforeseen events could cause new changes and risks which he couldn't allow. Zhou Zheng grinned maliciously.

"Just a little present." He slowly made a seal while his smile deepened.

"Gravity… Seal!" Long Feng's pupils shrank as the gravity around him multiplied by four times, one time more than the gravity lock move. Caught off guard, even the quarter comprehended third step of the nine firmament steps was unable to resist for a while as he fell from the sky. His heart was rather calm though, as he sensed that he would be able to regain his footing before hitting the ground.

It was just that his movement would be greatly impacted and even his flight height would be suppressed to just meters above the ground. There was no time to contemplate on what the Gravity Seal was. He had bigger issues to deal with. The moment he began falling, the three deities seized the chance to unleash attacks. A ring of flame was the first to arrive before Long Feng, threatening to engulf him in fire that could incinerate air itself. His weak body would struggle to withstand this flame.

Lightly flipping his body to decrease the speed of his fall, Long Feng erupted with demon energy that formed a dense cloud around him and blocked the ring of flame. The hastily formed defense was rapidly melted and the impact sent Long Feng crashing diagonally with his energy roiling in his chest and his skin turning slightly red from the heat. Just as he blocked the flames, his sword struggled in his grasp fiercely, nearly leaving his hand. But Long Feng held it firmly and didn't let go.

For a swordsman, losing the sword in a battle was a huge taboo that could even affect the sword heart in severe cases. Just then, a piercing golden arrow shot towards him, erupting with the sharpness of metal. Long Feng heavily pushed himself against the air and moved sideways to dodge the spear that was aiming for his chest. Even then, it scraped past his arm and opened a deep gash on his right shoulder that erupted with fresh blood.

The pain caused him to hold his breath for a second and he suddenly sensed danger behind him. Turning around, he was met with Zhou Zheng's savage expression as he rushed over and punched out, sending a huge boulder rumbling towards himself. Having no space to dodge, Long Feng could only cross his arms before his chest while using his struggling sword as a vertical shield. Boom! A loud explosion shook the ground as the boulder exploded, sending Long Feng tumbling down before he crashed heavily into the ground.

A sizable crater was formed where he crashed and a mouthful of blood spluttered from his throat as he crashed down painfully.