Chapter 21: Journey with the Cat

"Is this enough?"

Zhou Yi watched from the side as Zhuqing used a pen to scribble on the face of the unconscious Zhu Zhuyun.

"Hmm... one day, even without relying on others, I will defeat her again."

Zhuqing stood up.

It could be seen clearly written on Zhu Zhuyun's face: I, Zhu Zhuyun, am an old hag.

A turtle was also drawn on the other side of her face.

"Pfft, haha~"

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing because you're actually quite cute; just looking at your appearance, I thought you were a cold and aloof person."

"Hmph~"

"Are you heading to the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"Mm..." Hearing this, Zhuqing recalled the purpose of going to the Heaven Dou Empire, and her expression became somewhat complex as she thought of the person who had run away.

"Isn't that a coincidence? I'm going to the Heaven Dou Empire too."

Looking at the sorrow between her brows, Zhou Yi thought for a moment and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, this beautiful young lady, I wonder if I might have the honor of inviting you to be my companion on this journey?" He performed a clumsy gentleman's bow while extending his hand, waiting for her response.

Watching his awkward etiquette, Zhuqing pursed her lips and smiled lightly, as if she had temporarily forgotten the pressure she was under, and gently placed her slender hand on Zhou Yi's palm.

"Let's go! I'll take you to see the stars in the sky~" Receiving her response, Zhou Yi gripped her hand tightly, used a bit of strength to lift her up, summoned the Cloud Mist, and soared into the sky.

The night sky was vast, mysterious, and beautiful, as eye-catching as a goddess's veil.

Zhou Yi gently set Zhuqing down.

Because it was her first time being this high up, she appeared somewhat nervous. She tentatively touched the cloud beside her, but it felt like a real cloud with no substance, passing right through her fingers, yet she was able to stand upon it.

"How magical..."

"Look around you."

Zhuqing followed his words and looked around.

Before her eyes was an endless sea of clouds; looking up, there was the tranquil starry sky, and the moon in the distance seemed to be rising from the sea of clouds, large and round, as if it were within reach.

Amidst these scenes, she felt as if she had entered a dreamlike fairyland, and her soul was purified; the pressure from her family, Dai Mubai's escape, and all these things seemed so insignificant in the face of this breathtaking scenery.

When she recovered from the shock before her, she found that Zhou Yi was also gazing upward beside her.

"It really never gets old... You haven't seen the moon and the starry sky from this perspective before, have you? How is it? Isn't it beautiful?"

"Mm~"

"I was also very shocked the first time I saw it...

At that time, I was thinking that there are still many beautiful things in this world waiting to be discovered, and a person's life should not be completely filled with worldly troubles; occasionally calming one's heart and having a moment of spiritual relaxation is also a good choice."

As he spoke, his pitch-black eyes looked quietly at Zhuqing.

"Cultivation also requires a balance of tension and relaxation; let's have a long-overdue relaxation tonight."

Looking at his gentle and handsome face, Zhuqing replied softly.

"Okay~"

"Hmm... your strength is a bit weak..." Seeing Zhuqing's combat, Zhou Yi sighed.

After hearing his words, Zhuqing also became dejected.

It was now noon the next day,

and Zhuqing had just exhausted all her strength to defeat a six-hundred-year-old Ghost Leopard while sustaining injuries.

"What do you think is most important for an Agility Attack System Soul Master?"

"Attack and speed?" Zhuqing thought for a moment and replied.

"Mm... what you say also makes sense.

How about this, I'll help you with Recovery first, and later, have a match with me. Don't worry, I will suppress my physical fitness and soul power to the same level as yours, and I won't use any soul skills."

As he spoke, he signaled for Zhuqing to sit cross-legged to recover, and he sat behind her, pressing his hands on her back, circulating his Spiritual Power to help her accelerate the healing of her injuries.

Before long, Zhuqing had returned to her peak state.

She looked at Zhou Yi in confusion.

"Ah, my soul power is a bit special."

Hearing this, Zhuqing was no longer curious; since this was someone else's secret, she should not pry further.

In the forest, the two were separated by 10 meters, surrounded by trees and some vegetation.

"Come on, by the way, let's agree first: no holding grudges after the fight, regardless of who wins or loses."

Zhuqing nodded, then *whoosh*, she hid among the trees.

Zhou Yi remained where he was, standing relaxed, as if his whole body were full of openings.

*Swish—swish—swish—*

From the rustling sounds in the surrounding trees, it could be seen that Zhuqing was moving at high speed around Zhou Yi.

"Nether Thrust!"

Suddenly, a black shadow attacked his back at extreme speed.

"Your intent is too obvious, and don't call out your soul skill; it will let the enemy discover you."

As he spoke, Zhou Yi dodged to the side, grabbed the arm Zhuqing was attacking with, and swung it hard in the direction of her momentum.

Just like that, Zhu Zhuqing was sent flying over ten meters away by a single move, while Zhou Yi remained completely unscathed.

However, she immediately regrouped, learned from her previous lesson, and concealed herself once again; this time, she was clearly focused on hiding her sound, and the entire field became deathly quiet.

"Whoosh—"

A figure attacked from Zhou Yi's side without any warning, and it was clear that she had also condensed a soul skill on her hands.

"Not bad, you've improved this time."

Zhou Yi wanted to use the same trick to send her flying again, but just as he was about to grab her, she raised her leg and attacked his waist.

"Acceptable. You must know how to change your moves in an attack; you cannot always think about winning in a single strike."

As he spoke, Zhou Yi blocked with one hand, while the other hand was infused with soul power and formed into a sword finger, tapping the inside of her arm.

Seeing that they were about to enter a state of close-quarters grappling, Zhu Zhuqing, knowing her close-combat skills were inferior to Zhou Yi's, immediately disengaged from the battlefield.

"Your fighting style really has the flair of an assassin~"

Before long, Zhu Zhuqing attacked again, and this time, the direction she chose was head-on. However...

"Why? Why isn't he dodging this strike?" She wondered inwardly, even wanting to pull back her move for fear of injuring him.

Just as her sharp claws were about to make contact with him, Zhou Yi snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the soul power on Zhu Zhuqing's hands vanished, and the sharp claws faded away.

Taking this opportunity, Zhou Yi grabbed her arm, turned to the side, pulled her into his embrace, and held his soul-power-infused sword finger against her throat.

"You lost."

"You... you let go of me first..."

Zhou Yi also noticed that the distance between them was a bit too close and hurriedly let go.

Looking at Zhu Zhuqing, her delicate face was now covered in a rosy flush, and her sparkling eyes did not dare to look at Zhou Yi.

"Ahem, think carefully about how you were defeated." To ease the awkwardness, Zhou Yi hurriedly brought up the serious matter.

"Could it be because of the reason you tapped your finger on my arm earlier?" Mentioning the serious matter, she calmed down quite a bit.

"That's right. From the previous two attacks, I discovered that your right hand is your dominant hand, so I injected soul power into the meridians of your right arm. Even though I don't have a complete understanding of human acupuncture points yet, I often use my hands to execute soul skills, and over time, I have come to understand the circulation path of soul power in the arm when using soul skills."

"Just now, I detonated that trace of soul power to block the output of soul power in your arm."

"So that's how it is." Zhu Zhuqing looked at Zhou Yi with a hint of admiration in her eyes; he was truly a genius when it came to combat. With the same physical fitness, he could subdue her in a few moves without using soul skills.

"You must know that combat is also an art. To defeat an enemy, you must first understand your own strengths, and secondly, discover the enemy's weaknesses. Fighting styles don't need to be rigid; they can be strange, varied, and imaginative, until you find a style that suits you."

"This is even more true for an Agility Attack System Soul Master like you. You must think more during combat. If you cannot find the enemy's weakness, even if you rely on speed to attack countless times, you will not cause any damage to the enemy, and you cannot count on your attacks always being able to pierce through the enemy's defense."

"I have been taught. In the days to come... will you continue to teach me?" Due to the pressure from her family, she was desperate to improve her strength and couldn't help but ask for Zhou Yi's help.

"Hahaha, no problem. Aren't we already friends? Between friends, this little thing is only right."

"That's right! We are friends~" Looking at the laughing Zhou Yi, she also revealed a happy smile.