Light Feather's Shocking Words: She Became a Shield

"Eighth Soul Skill, Stopping Realm."

Countless Ice Arrows shot up from the ground, locking firmly onto the Thunder Twin-Winged Tiger.

A single Eighth Soul Skill had severely wounded this 60,000-Year Soul Beast.

The lingering Ice Power froze the Thunder Twin-Winged Tiger solid.

The sudden turn of events made Chu Zhao's heart leap into her throat. She could only comfort herself: since he had stepped in to help her, he definitely was not an enemy.

Still, he had most likely been watching from the shadows for quite some time and had seen through all her trump cards.

"Kid, I'll leave the rest to you. Can you handle it?"

A young man's voice came from not far behind Chu Zhao. She did not turn around, merely nodded at the severely injured Thunder Twin-Winged Tiger.

Then she swiftly drew her bow and nocked an arrow, once again using the Death God Scythe martial soul's Fourth Soul Skill to finish off the severely injured 60,000-Year Soul Beast.

The Death Qi within the Reaper Arrows was immensely heavy. The Thunder Twin-Winged Tiger had been struck by several arrows; no matter how formidable its vitality was, it could not withstand such massive depletion from the Death Qi.

Only after the danger had been resolved did Chu Zhao turn to look at the person who had helped her.

The instant their eyes met, the air seemed to fall silent.

He was a youth who looked under twenty, standing atop a tree branch like the wind and snow amid the forest.

He wore a light gray robe, his silver hair drifting over his shoulders. His features were refined and handsome, but his left eye was especially unusual, covered by a layer of ice and snow that made his fair skin seem even more jade-like.

He exuded an aura like ice and snow, carrying an innate chill.

Ice and snow always had a way of calming people. The killing intent that had surged through Chu Zhao because of the Thunder Twin-Winged Tiger gradually subsided as well.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life."

From his appearance alone, Chu Zhao had already vaguely guessed his identity.

Spirit Hall Fifth Elder, Light Feather Douluo.

Yet she could only pretend not to know and address him as Senior.

"No need to thank me. You saved one of Spirit Hall's juniors just now as well. It was only right for this old man to save you."

The youth somehow made the gray robe look exceptionally elegant. As he spoke, he wore a faint smile that dispersed much of the icy aura around him.

His intervention had been entirely accidental. He had originally been near the Star Dou Great Forest, but three Spirit Hall distress signals had risen from within in quick succession, forcing him to take the matter seriously.

Chu Zhao's group had been the last one he came to assist.

Light Feather glanced at the martial soul in Chu Zhao's hand, which was still in the form of a Reaper Arrow, and grew curious.

"Is your martial soul a bow and arrow too?"

"Huh? No, it's a scythe."

Chu Zhao seemed startled by his question before realizing she was still on guard. She quickly returned her martial soul to its original form.

She felt much more at ease inside. It seemed this youth had arrived after she used her Fourth Soul Skill, which was why he had asked such a question.

"So it isn't a bow and arrow!"

The youth looked somewhat disappointed. Then he looked at Chu Zhao again, lightly examining her from head to toe.

"That useless fox said you saved her twice. She cried and begged this old man to come save you. Yet you don't look very old, and your strength is actually greater than that conceited fox's. And it just so happened that you saved her twice?"

He was already suspicious of Chu Zhao.

Yet Chu Zhao did not panic at his faintly interrogative tone. Instead, she went along with him and said somewhat sheepishly,

"It was rather coincidental."

Her expression was too sincere, and for a moment, Light Feather could not tell whether she was playing dumb or truly clueless.

"What's your name? Whose child are you?"

Light Feather continued questioning her. He would know from her answer.

"My name is Chu Zhao. I'm a student of Cloud Peak Academy."

Chu Zhao answered honestly. Anyone could investigate that information.

Yet the moment he heard her name, Light Feather's expression changed. He instantly appeared before Chu Zhao, his expression somewhat strange.

"Chu Zhao? A Chu?"

Chu Zhao gave him a puzzled look, silently saying: Senior, could you not call me so intimately?

But Light Feather was too excited to notice her gaze. He simply began speaking to himself, no longer even asking questions.

"Your name is Chu Zhao, and you're a student at Cloud Peak Academy in Fasinuo Province?"

"You're also Heaven Dou Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's beloved?"

"The Crown Princess Xue Qinghe has chosen?"

Chu Zhao was genuinely dumbfounded now. Those three sentences had completely broken her mind.

"It's not me. I'm not. You have the wrong person. It must be a coincidence—someone with the same name."

Chu Zhao gave a fourfold denial, adamantly refusing to admit that the person Light Feather spoke of was her.

What was going on?!

She had become Xue Qinghe's shield now? With his legendary beloved standing in front, that fellow finally had a perfectly legitimate reason not to marry or take concubines.

What had she done to deserve knowing such a terrible friend?

"It's useless for you to deny it. Many people already know this news. It has practically spread across the entire continent. Everyone knows that Heaven Dou Crown Prince Xue Qinghe has a beloved of ordinary birth."

Light Feather emphasized this as he looked at Chu Zhao with much gentler eyes.

It was an emotion called loving the person and everything associated with them.

Chu Zhao, meanwhile, was about to explode.

"Xue. Qing. He!"

If that guy did not give her satisfactory compensation, then their Zhao-Xue Alliance was finished!

"Don't get angry! There's even more to make you angry. It won't be too late to get angry after this old man finishes."

Light Feather looked delighted at the prospect of chaos as he spoke eagerly.

"According to the firsthand insider information this old man received, Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire has already softened somewhat. When he heard that you were a student at an Advanced Soul Master Academy, he prepared to issue an order.

If you enter the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, he will grant you and Xue Qinghe a marriage and permit you to become Xue Qinghe's Crown Princess."

Chu Zhao: The heart she had been holding onto was completely dead.

What a Xue Qinghe. What a Qian Renxue.

"Kid? A Chu? What's wrong? You're not really angry, are you?"

Light Feather had finished speaking, yet Chu Zhao still did not react. Only then did he notice how terrible her expression was, and he actually felt a little gleeful.

"Becoming the Heaven Dou Crown Princess is a blessing others could only dream of!"

At that moment, Chu Zhao really wanted to snap back, "Do you want this blessing, then?"

"I don't think it's a blessing. I think it's my curse."

Chu Zhao was infuriated by Xue Qinghe using her as a shield, and even her voice turned cold. By the end, her voice could not help but sink.

"What decent person uses an ally as a shield?"

"Hm? What's this? Didn't the rumors say the two of you were mutually in love, so deeply devoted that you couldn't restrain yourselves? Why does it not seem that way to this old man?"

Light Feather's playful side rose at once. Though he knew perfectly well that this was merely an act put on by Chu Zhao and Xue Qinghe, he deliberately said it to tease Chu Zhao.