The sky started rumbling as black clouds filled with rainwater appeared. All attention was towards two people, on one side it was a man clad in a white battle robe and radiating golden energy. On the other, an old man was surrounded by a haze of emerald flames that made him look like he was on fire. The old man was at an advanced age but for some reason had managed to regain some of his youthful demeanor. Instead of looking like a corpse he had reverted to an appearance of a seventy-year-old.

‘He is strong but… I don’t think this guy has the stamina for this fight, I can use this to my advantage.’

Zhang Dong was of course the one clad in golden energy. He could feel that his opponent was facing him on borrowed time. Perhaps he had made a mistake by not pushing in harder before the Emerald Phoenix Emperor achieved his power boost. The Qi his current opponent was radiating was truly tremendous, it was certainly not below his own and this was probably only the tip of the iceberg. However when focusing really hard he could feel that there was something off, the bountiful spiritual energy was decreasing with each passing moment.

No one besides Zhang Dong could probably tell this but the Emerald Phoenix Emperor was slowly running out of juice. He was like a bright candle shining the most before it was burned out. The deterioration process was very minuscule but it was there. This made him believe that if he managed to stall and get his opponent to perform large attacks he would eventually gas himself out. A defensive strategy was his best bet of winning this as the power the old man was emanating was perhaps even above Wang Longs when they fought.

“So you are the Emerald Phoenix Emperor? I can see why they would fear you but… that title is a bit bothersome, do you perhaps have a name to go along with it?”

“You dare talk to me in such a fashion?”

“Why wouldn’t I, old man? If you’re not willing to give me a name, I’ll just call you … how does, old fart sound? Oh, judging by that vein on your forehead it’s not to your liking? Would, Old farty emperor be better then? You know, cos farts are green and you are the Emerald Emperor and stuff…”

“Y-you…”

Zhang Dong’s first tactic was easy, it was always better to make an opponent mad at him. In a fight between cultivators, focus was something that needed to be kept. Charging in with fist swinging and Qi blasts firing was a good way of getting killed. Normally people expected old monsters like the Emerald Phoenix Emperor to be more stoic but the reality was mostly different.

They usually came from a long family line that was used to looking down on others. They expected everyone to bow down their heads when they appeared and be on their best behavior. Thus when they were against someone that offered them nothing else than ridicule, they didn’t know how to react.

“Me? Farty pants gramps, are you feeling okay? Maybe we should get you an adult-sized diaper, you are looking rather pale…”

“How dare you ridicule me, Cuilu Fenghuang, I am the Emerald Phoenix Emperor, I will rip out your spine and keep your head alive in a jar! You shall know my wrath for the reminder of your pathetic life!”

Everyone could sense the rage building up in the Emerald Phoenix Emperor as the whole place started being filled out with greenish flames. Even though Zhang Dong was only mocking him, the name of the old man was revealed to be Cuilu Fenghuang. However, that would just give Zhang Dong more ammunition to continue egging on.

“Was that so hard, Fartyhuang?”

“My name is Fenghuang! It’s going to be the last name you remember! I had enough! Attack!”

“You should watch your blood sugar gramps! Everyone, it’s time, attack with me!”

There were two sides to this fight and they were waiting silently for the two most powerful experts to finish talking. Both needed to shout their orders for the battle to truly commence. Finally, the large number of metallic puppets reacted to Zhang Dong’s call and was then followed by the Heavenly Crane Sect and the focus from the magical kingdom led by Lucius.

On the other side were the Emerald Phoenix Empire forces. Their fighting potential was quite similar to their opponents but they had more ground fortifications. Due to the retreat, they had lost a lot of their flying ships that were now even being used against them. Nevertheless, the whole place was brighter than a fireworks show.

Various colored spiritual energy blasts started flying around the whole place. Attacking formations that took the shape of dragons were quite prevalent on the Azure Empire side while ones that took the appearance of legendary birds on the other. The clash between the many powerful cultivators and treasures started warping the space around this area. The ground could not sustain this mass of spiritual energy and it started to crack. The last battle had finally begun.

…

“For someone with such a foul mouth, can you only run?”

“But if I get too close to you, I’ll get engulfed by those green farts!”

“You still dare mock my emerald flames?”

Zhang Dong continued to run his mouth at the old man that chased him up into the air. They moved far out of the range of the battle that was taking place just like he liked it. Without anyone around him, it was possible for him to let loose. When fighting around an army there was always a danger of his attacks killing some of his allies. Cuilu Fenghuang didn’t seem like someone that would care about killing his own men, so angering him was the first step of getting him away from the battle.

This was of course noticed by some of the Saint Emperor generals from the Emerald Phoenix Empire army. Though they would remain unable to aid their great leader as Lucius along with Argus and some of the Heavenly Crane Sect masters were there to keep them busy. This was a strategy they agreed on before this whole attack even started. They would isolate Cuilu Fenghuang from the rest while Zhang Dong battled him alone.

‘What’s with this feeling, something seems to be off here… I’m not losing but this is a bit too easy…’

Zhang Dong wasn’t sure what was happening but the victory was coming too easily. Everything was going according to his plan and he was managing to slowly drain his opponent of precious Qi. They had already clashed a few times and with every confrontation, the Emerald Phoenix Emperor was growing weaker. To keep up with the facade he also made sure to lower his own power level to his opponent. Through this and continued insults he was able to fool Cuilu Fenghuang into believing that he was actually keeping up during this confrontation.

The fight wasn’t easy and there were a few instances in which he received real damage. The gash on his cheek was barely healing as his opponent actually had enough spiritual energy to make it hard for even Zhang Dong to heal. Even though it didn’t take long to heal small wounds, during a confrontation like this which was taking place at high speeds, it could be the difference between life and death. It was better to let some of his blood to spill than to risk a bigger injury if he tried to apply his healing arts.

His enemy was using a large double glave and he was quite proficient with it. These invaders had a different cultivation method so he didn’t need to worry about any unexpected soul beasts. Bahamut who could help him was aiding the army that was able to hold out for now. However even when his plan seemed to be working, there was something that was missing. Without any proof, he could only stall a bit more but the more he waited the harder it would be to win this confrontation.

He was trying to fool his enemy into making a big mistake. Only one was needed to turn this into a one-sided slog and he had offered up some wounds to gain this opportunity. Even though there was something bothering him, he could not confirm this bad premonition with anything substantial. Zhang Dong needed to trust his allies to keep any potential help from coming to the Emerald Phoenix Emperor.

‘He is going for it… I must make it count.’

The time to strike back had come, after bouncing multiple techniques between each other the Emerald Phoenix Emperor raised his glave into the sky. There a massive phoenix composed of flames started to appear. It was some type of grand attack that took some time for him to generate. The time to counter would come after this, the moment their attacks collided with each other there would be a tiny timeframe for him to land a deadly attack. He had lowered his speed just for this moment and was hoping to catch the Emerald Phoenix Emperor off guard.

The emerald phoenix wasn’t just formed, the man himself was being pulled into the massive bird of flames that was even larger than Bahamut his familiar. Even the heavens were being charred by it, the stormy clouds that were generated by Zhang Dong’s Dao were forced back by the appearance of a strong wind. His current opponent was proficient in both winds and flames, with the two working together the flames could be enhanced even further.

Even though his body had reached a new realm it was still human at its base. He was not able to contain all of this heat which made him sweat. This attack if not dodged would really hurt, he wouldn’t be surprised if his enhanced body that was as strong as a heavenly treasure wouldn’t just melt outright. It was also a chance for victory as the moment his own spinning energy ball that was emulating a star collided with the emerald phoenix, it would be the time to strike.

This was at least what was supposed to happen but at the moment that the phoenix started forming something strange happened. A thin ray of black light shot forth from the large floating fortress the Emerald Phoenix Emperor had appeared from. The speed was tremendous and gave no time for anyone from his allies to react.

“I got you now you old bastard!”

“Huh?”

Zhang Dong called out in surprise as he heard the voice of the Emperor’s son calling out. This wasn’t the only baffling part as the beam that was almost at its target was not aimed for him but at the Emerald Phoenix Emperor instead…