In the end, the reason Zhou Tian couldn't outfight those Deities behind him was simply because their rule cultivation was above his, and the rules they cultivated were not weaker than his Time Rule.
Given the advantages of those Deities, Zhou Tian had little chance of catching up with them in terms of strength, and based on the situation at that time, if they continued to fight, Zhou Tian would naturally have no chance of winning, not even a sliver.
However, because they had reached a special perilous place where no abilities could be used, in that environment, Zhou Tian suddenly realized that in that perilous place, the original advantages of those Deities couldn't be leveraged at all.
Thus, even without the ability to use equipment, if they were to fight today, they would compete in terms of their close combat ability and the sharpness of their weapons.