CHAPTER 36: ZOE

The young girl clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, as if searching for strength.

"Dad’s notes, the ruins just now... I fully understand, I know I have a very important connection with the Star Soul.

"I’m scared, really scared, the cries of those girls that feel so much like me are constantly in my mind...

"But,"

Zoe locked eyes with Li Ang.

"What I’m more afraid of is eating alone, sleeping alone, walking through the village alone, wandering aimlessly on the prairie alone, climbing mountains alone, practicing swordplay alone, waiting alone, staring into the sky alone, not knowing what’s out there.

"Those ruins, there are clues about mom and dad, I don’t want them to be destroyed.

"Li Ang, I don’t want to see you get hurt, not at all."

"What I’m truly afraid of is hiding behind you and then losing everything once again."

"Now, I shouldn’t be afraid of anything."

The young girl lifted her hands, grasped the edge of her helmet, and raised it upward, shaking it left and right, allowing her slightly curly auburn hair to fall freely.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

Taking off the helmet meant the spiritual barrier rune Li Ang engraved would become inactive.

He reached out to put the helmet back on her head, but she had already jumped onto the ground, without even grabbing her sword.

If he followed her, the magic power he summoned halfway through casting would scatter, resulting in a great loss, and it would be uncertain if he could still unleash the secret technique.

"Come back, fool! You don’t need to sacrifice for others to defeat this snake." Li Ang hurriedly shouted.

"It’s not a sacrifice, it’s not for someone else."

The young girl turned around, hair tips brushing her cheeks, her face showing a soft expression that was almost unreal in its beauty.

"Li Ang, when it feels like the whole world is falling apart, you still smile at me gently, and I feel a tingling warmth all over."

"The battle happened too quickly, sorry, I haven’t participated in many battles and couldn’t foresee it becoming so dangerous."

Zoe walked towards the Earth Serpent.

"These past five days felt like a dream to me.

"If it weren’t for Li Ang, I’d still be misunderstanding mom and dad. Without Li Ang, I wouldn’t dare to imagine the outside world. I only saw myself as an unwanted child, a weirdo in the villagers’ eyes. I didn’t know how long these days would continue.

"I’m really, truly, really grateful because I wanted friends. I took the initiative to find you, even if it was unreasonable to challenge you to a duel, I didn’t know it was unreasonable back then.

"I want more of Li Ang in my life, how could I bear to let myself die?"

Even though the ground had been torn apart by the earthquake, and the remnants of the crystalline dome threatened further destruction from above, none of this could stop the young girl’s steps.

In Li Ang’s eyes, Zoe’s feet didn’t seem to step on the ground, but as if treading on an invisible surface of water, each step sending out a ripple of light.

Every few steps, she would turn back to glance at Li Ang.

"Li Ang, do you know? I should have met you a long time ago.

"When I found the cabin in the woods, I was ecstatic, realizing there had been someone like me here, alone.

"So when I saw you return, I wanted so badly to talk to you, to see what kind of person you were."

Each glance back, the light in her eyes would shine a bit brighter.

It was divine light formed by countless tiny runes.

In the end, the light spread over her whole body, forming a subtle glow outside her outline. This glow was so gentle, it seemed capable of dissolving all disputes and woes.

Zoe seemed to be enveloped in endless light from head to toe.

Li Ang couldn’t see the exact light and color but could feel her being wrapped in light and energy.

In the light, the fastenings of the standard iron armor he had crafted snapped under the tension of energy and fell from her.

The sootsteel bracers and desert beast leather boots her parents had left to her also seemed ill-fit for her body, mysteriously dropping to the ground.

It was as if she had "passed through" all matter.

Finally, she was left only in that faded, old dress.

"Just now, in the ruins, I saw something. I’m not articulate, can’t express it, but at that moment, I realized I could suppress the big snake; it’s my innate ability.

"Before, it was mom and dad battling the big snake for me, now it’s Li Ang.

"I should be more diligent and bolder, then things wouldn’t be so dangerous.

"Li Ang has the life he wants to control, and I’m thinking, now I have one too.

"I should be able to do it... No, I must do it!"

It was as if a breeze was blowing directly at Zoe, reshaping her oversized dress into a noble duelist’s gown, as if to showcase affection for her, it danced like a grand gala gown.

Her delicate face was bathed in radiance, and Li Ang couldn’t tell if the warm hue washing over her skin was the light or the color of her life, or perhaps both.

He almost held his breath.

In most aerial realms, there are beauties of all shapes, and each race has its own talents: the seductive allure of the Beast-Earkin, the delicate strengths of the Horned Race, the elegance of the Elves, the cute charm of the Douding Family...

But at this moment, Zoe, with a beauty that could defy the world, didn’t need to compete with any of them.

The brilliance of her soul was enough to overshadow the sky.

Slight, bare feet seemed to tread on air, the young girl opened her arms, advancing toward the Earth Serpent step by step.

The Star Soul Beast halted its seismic escalation, its gem-like serpent eyes focused on the approaching girl, its body also shrouded in light.

As if erased from the world, the Holy Snake’s diamond-scaled body gradually dissolved in the light, spreading from its tail to its head. When its crown vanished completely into the light, the glow surged toward the young girl, merging with the light enveloping her.

In an instant, colorful gemstone-like rainbow hues radiated from Zoe’s surroundings.

In the light, she slowly rose, with the surrounding light condensing into mysterious runes, and these runes forming a series of rings, rotating around her as the center.

The young girl’s expression showed a struggle, her body curling as she resisted some presence.

Soon, the rune rings gleamed and contracted onto her body. The Rune of Light dissipated, merging into her, while many precious gems scattered around were drawn by an invisible force, disappearing into the light.

Then, she began to transform.

Starting from the ends of her hair, a dark green hue slowly spread through her shoulder-length waves.

Her fair skin became smooth and flawless, akin to creamy jade. At the center of her forehead appeared a shimmering emerald, around which a golden scale crown passed through her hair, gathering at the back of her head, followed by golden scale bracelets, ankle rings, bracelets, and anklets appearing in sequence.

Her right eye retained its own pigeon blood red, while her left eye mirrored the deep blue of ocean waters, a divine light flashing, imprinting a six-pointed star in the depths of her eyes.

At the corners of her eyes, malachite hues extended along her lashes, a shadow enveloped her brows, vividly reminiscent of ancient civilization’s meticulous crafting of stone pigments, all to imprint beauty into eternity.

Her cute little face seemed to be brushed with a very subtle golden powder, these colors elegant yet mysterious, as elusive as the fleeting thoughts when gazing at ancient paintings.

Beneath her dress, a golden-scaled serpentine tail coiled and extended, shifting side to side.

Transformed into a brand new form, the young girl slightly raised her chin, her expressionless, exquisite face seemed to be adorned with a layer of divinity, akin to a Celestial Maiden descending to survey the earth.

As the rainbow glow faded, her adorable bare feet landed on an invisible surface. In this topsy-turvy world, the fluorescent stones that once adorned the cave ceiling now spread a light carpet across the ground. She walked above this light carpet, stepping on circles of light patterns, with her long tail trailing behind her, approaching Li Ang step by step.

Star Soul, Star Soul Greenhouse...

Li Ang gazed intently at the approaching young girl, realizing that both sides could directly integrate at a spiritual level. The magic flowing in this process operated in reverse, dissolving the Star Soul’s body and reconstructing it onto the young girl.

Was she... Zoe, or the Earth Serpent?

Li Ang warily regarded the "young girl," sensing her spiritual state and pondering whether, if the Star Soul was in control of everything, he could find a way to separate the two spirits?

Her gaze also cast over, intersecting with his in the air.

The young girl stuck out her tongue, the cold expression melting into Zoe’s unique playfulness.

"Hehe, it seems like it worked."