My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 692 - 451: The World’s Number 1 (Two Combined into One)_2

"What kind of behavior is this—playing around?"

Suddenly, a voice devoid of joy or sorrow drifted over.

The young girl blinked and replied:

"I've just finished practicing."

"Keep practicing."

Yin Tingxue pouted slightly. She didn't know why Zhou Yitang was upset, but she wanted to listen. Yet Master Zhou now kept a tight hold on her, refusing to let her overhear anything she shouldn't.

"Let's go, let's go... Huang Niang'er."

The little fox darted its eyes and feigned casualness, saying:

"It's almost peony blossom season."

Huang Niang'er seemingly agreed, patting the vines and barking twice.

......

Chen Yi walked along the mountain path.

Neither too flat nor too steep, the summit was neither too far nor near. A few steps brought him into the grasslands, where he'd once spotted the elder, wizened and decrepit, thinking little of it. Yet his mindset had shifted now; casting aside many distractions, he couldn't help but reevaluate the significance of the words "Number One Under Heaven."

Min Ning's earlier words weren't wrong—though Wu Buxu's level was clearly one realm below, no swordsman had walked away victorious from Sword Pool in decades. Even the legendary Xiao Daoping, already a Sword Immortal, had fallen to a single sword.

What heights had Wu Buxu's Sword Intent truly reached?

Where... did he stand beneath the endless sky?

Chen Yi exhaled lightly and murmured, "He won't be easy to deal with."

Once he spoke, he kept walking forward.

Before long, his steps faltered slightly. He stared straight ahead.

His pupils contracted.

Chaotic leaves swirled midair, a shadow flickering in the interplay of light and dark.

A one-armed woman appeared as if walking on air, her face expressionless, her gaze indifferent, slowly approaching Chen Yi. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

To either side, Sword Intent initially raged like turbulent waves but settled in an instant, softening into a gentle wind that blew past.

"What are you doing here?" Chen Yi exclaimed in surprise.

He couldn't immediately comprehend why Zhou Yitang would be here. His trip to Shantong City was because of Lu Ying's connection to him, one that couldn't involve Zhou Yitang.

A fake? An illusion?

Chen Yi deliberated for a moment. Without a word, his hand instinctively moved.

Zhou Yitang gazed at her disciple—long unseen—with eyes sharp as a sword, as though piercing through Chen Yi's current state of mind in one glance.

With the identity of "Zhu Yu" beside Min Ning, Zhou Yitang could naturally observe everything through Min Ning's eyes.

Including Chen Yi's entangled thoughts, which she now saw clearly.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Yi wouldn't be affected this much by distractions—he might have them, but not to this extent. Yet at the root of it all lay the fact that she'd severed his Upper and Middle Corpses.

At that time, though she hadn't gone so far as to cut down all three corpses, severing two but leaving them unreplenished was an underhanded strategy, enabling her subtle influence over him—leading him back toward the path of the Living Sword.

Distracted thoughts were troubling, but to Zhou Yitang, eradicating them was no great difficulty. After all, she understood him deeply. Yet once those doubts dissolved, Chen Yi—free of distractions—would again become a raw gem waiting to be refined. She had originally thought to wait for him to return to Yin Sword Mountain, but by some twist of fate, Min Ning had intervened ahead of time.

Now, revealing herself to Chen Yi at the risk of exposure was solely because if she didn't act soon, someone else might outmaneuver her again.

Zhou Yitang lowered her gaze and scrutinized the depth of his longing.

And then she saw...

Chen Yi handed over the nameless wildflower gifted by Min Ning.

"I prepared a gift for you—here, take it."

Zhou Yitang: "..."

On the mountain path, a sudden quiet descended. Chen Yi blinked, noticing Zhou Yitang standing motionless before him, and felt perplexed.

He wouldn't stay confused for long.

The one-armed woman coldly said, "You've played the 'offering borrowed flowers to the Buddha' trick far too many times."

Chen Yi's eyes widened in surprise—he exclaimed:

"It really is you..."

If it weren't truly Zhou Yitang, she might not notice this stunt, but she'd certainly never say he'd done it many times before.

Chen Yi awkwardly withdrew the flower and scratched his head before asking:

"Why are you here?"

Truthfully, no place felt strange for Zhou Yitang to appear; her cultivation was already near-boundless—she could wander freely.

Zhou Yitang pondered briefly before saying, "To save you."

Chen Yi showed a hint of surprise.

Zhou Yitang immediately asked: "Do you wish to die?"

She stared at Chen Yi. His throat moved slightly, just about to shake his head, but suddenly, he nodded fiercely instead.

"Yes, I do want to die," Chen Yi said with a playful grin.

The one-armed woman's face remained as still as a well. "Why?"

The stern master and the mischievous disciple faced off, Chen Yi drawling idly, "To see my master clearly care about me yet forever regret—I suppose that doesn't sound too bad."

The remark was begging for a beating.

Yet Zhou Yitang's expression didn't shift; she retorted, "Once you've tried, it'll feel natural."

Her reply was succinct, yet it quietly struck a chord. Chen Yi's lips twitched bitterly. He admitted helplessly, "Every time I go a while without seeing you, you end up saying something hurtful."

"I didn't hurt you intentionally."

"It's precisely because it wasn't intentional—that's what hurts the most."

After that, Chen Yi sighed, keeping the flower firmly clenched in his palm. He walked past Zhou Yitang directly, heading toward the summit.

She watched him stride onward, her brows furrowing slightly.

Before she could call out, Chen Yi waved a hand dismissively, speaking first:

"I'm afraid you'll have some underhanded scheme. Let me see Wu Buxu first, and then we'll talk."

......

The mountaintop.

Thunder still roared, thick clouds pressing heavily upon the heavens, casting shadows over the dim world—a hundred years of desolation stretching between sky and earth.

The same grasslands, the same Sword Grave, the same man once known as Number One Under Heaven—the white-haired elder.

The elder seemed to have become part of this vast desolation.

From afar, nothing looked changed. Yet Chen Yi's emotions differed from before.

Number One Under Heaven...

Those four words weighed heavily, pressing onto his heart.

Chen Yi slowly advanced, and silently, there was an ominous sense of gathering wind and rain.