Chapter Eighty-Eight: One Peach, Three Men, Part Two

“What is this...?”

Yin Seventeen stared in shock, eyes wide.

Though the sphere looked pitch-black, it was in fact radiating an astonishing heat. Before it even reached him, he could already feel a searing wave of air slap against his face.

It was a black sun.

There was no time to evade. Yin Seventeen immediately concentrated his power into his right hand and struck at the black sun bearing down on him.

Fortunately, his opponent had not used ordinary fists and kicks this time, but had instead gathered power for a combat technique. That gave him a sliver of breathing room.

“Whirlpool Strangling.”

With the punch unleashed, the power of his Cosmos transformed into a whirlpool that expanded rapidly before him, blocking the path of the enormous black sun hurtling toward him.

“Die, brat!”

Seeing this, the stooped fighter revealed a cruel smile.

The difference in strength between them was so vast that the other side could not possibly withstand this blow.

The tall man and the man with glasses were both frantic, but it was already too late to stop him.

Their companion had seized the moment too well, deliberately striking at the instant the two of them were locked in a clash, leaving them with no chance to interfere.

Boom!

Yin Seventeen’s water vortex had barely spread to a width of less than three feet, just enough to shield him, when the black sun, nearly ten feet across, slammed into the barrier formed by the vortex.

In an instant, the entire whirlpool barrier was boiled away and evaporated by the black sun’s scorching heat, dissolving at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than two seconds, the whirlpool had been completely reduced to nothingness.

“Aaaah—”

The black sun struck his body, and Yin Seventeen let out a horrible scream.

That terrifying heat seared his flesh, and even with the resistance of his Cosmos and the protection of the Goblet Saint Cloth, the pain was still unbearable.

Too hot. Too painful. He felt as though his body would be completely roasted through the very next instant.

Whoosh.

The black sun exhausted its power and vanished, leaving only a stretch of blackened ground and a charred corpse.

Elsewhere, after being sent flying by the collision between the two evil god fighters, Mei Yi and the other two landed beside the pyramid and set their sights on the group of evil god fighters guarding it.

They could not take part in a battle at the silver rank, but clearing out this group of bronze-rank fighters was well within their reach.

The poor guards assigned to the pyramid had originally intended not to join the fight, since the credit for these Saint fighters had already been reserved by the four silver-rank fighters.

Even if they had other thoughts, they could only keep them buried in their hearts and dare not show them.

But now these three Saints had come to them on their own. Fight, and they could not win. Run, and they could not escape. They were in a miserable bind and could do nothing but defend passively and respond to each move as it came.

At that very moment, the man with glasses glanced at them and said coldly, “The lives of those three are ours!”

He only cared that the three Saints stayed alive for the moment. As for whether the guards lived or died, he did not care in the least.

No one would pity the deaths of bronze-rank trash like that.

Hearing this, the fighters guarding the pyramid felt even more bitter.

Their opponents were already no weaker than them, and perhaps even slightly stronger. They were already struggling just to hold out, and now they were forbidden from inflicting serious harm. It was practically no different from being ordered to stand there and await death.

On the other side, seeing Yin Seventeen collapse to the ground, the stooped fighter turned back and said triumphantly to his two companions, “We agreed just now: whoever kills him first gets the credit. You won’t go back on your word, will you?”

“Hmph.”

The tall man gave a cold snort and said nothing more. Looking at the smug expression on his stooped companion’s face, he was deeply unwilling.

Seeing that the situation was now decided, the man with glasses was also preparing to shift his target. But at that very moment, he sensed that Yin Seventeen’s initially fading Cosmos had once again begun to stir with life.

A dead tree in spring had sprouted leaves and buds once more.

It was Yin Seventeen using Moonlight Nectar again, healing his wounds.

The gap between them was simply too great.

If not for the Goblet Saint Cloth, his own Cosmos alone would never have been enough to neutralize that terrifying attack. He would have been burned to ashes by the black sun on the spot.

Even so, one foot had already stepped through the gates of death. He was on the brink of oblivion.

Without Moonlight Nectar, he might truly have died here.

And it was precisely this brush with death that made him profoundly realize how little effort he had put into his cultivation.

He needed to work harder, and even harder still.

Otherwise, he would never have fallen into such a desperate situation.

“That brat isn’t dead yet!”

At the same time, realizing this, the man with glasses was overjoyed. He instantly burst into speed and rushed toward Yin Seventeen.

Though he did not understand exactly what had happened to the other man, this result was excellent for him.

The tall fighter noticed it as well. Almost at the same time, he dashed out together with the man with glasses.

Only the stooped fighter, too pleased with himself, had missed the chance. By the time he realized it, his two companions were already ahead of him.

The three of them were close in strength. One step behind meant being behind every step after that.

Seeing that he could no longer catch the other two, and that the credit he had finally secured was about to slip from his grasp, he hardened his heart and once again concentrated his Cosmos into his right hand, unleashing his ultimate attack at the two men.

“Dark Sun Fist.”

In an instant, the force of the punch, mixed with Cosmos power, transformed into a black sun that howled toward them.

“Hmph. I knew you’d try that!”

The man with glasses snorted coldly, and, in perfect coordination with the tall companion, both of them struck backward in unison.

“Sunburst Fist.”

“Sunburst Fist.”

They intended to join forces first to knock the stooped fighter out of the contest, and only then decide who would claim the final credit.

Cosmos power transformed into two blinding suns, colliding head-on with the black sun charging in from behind.

Outnumbered two to one, the stooped fighter had no advantage whatsoever.

The black sun and the two other suns held against each other for less than three seconds before shattering all at once. The two blazing suns, still carrying their remaining force, immediately blasted him backward.

Though this blow was not enough to seriously injure him, the delay meant he no longer had any chance to seize the credit.

The silver Saint’s strength was far below theirs; killing him would be easy.

They did not understand why the other had survived the previous two times, but this time, his two companions should not repeat the same mistake.

He was out.

Meanwhile, his wounds rapidly healed, and Yin Seventeen slowly rose from the ground just as the man with glasses and the tall fighter reached him.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gathered his Cosmos into both hands and struck at the two of them from left and right.

“What can those feeble fists of yours do? It’s all wasted effort. Just wait quietly for death!” the tall man said dismissively, spreading the fingers of his left hand and easily catching Yin Seventeen’s fist.

As for the Cosmos attached to that punch, he completely neutralized it with his own Cosmos.

“Yes. No matter how you struggle, it’s futile! Stand still obediently, and perhaps we’ll let you die a little more comfortably.” The man with glasses pushed up his frames with one hand and calmly caught the incoming fist with the other.

In an instant, Yin Seventeen was seized from both sides and trapped between them.