The Heroine Must Die

Lauren sucked in a sharp breath and immediately yanked Briar off him.

Briar was shaking violently, clutching Lauren’s leg like a lifeline.

It was terrified.

Terrified its identity would be exposed.

Terrified these human cultivators would discover what it was, shun it, poison it, burn it alive.

And if that happened…

It wouldn’t be able to stop itself from devouring them all.

Lauren felt Briar’s feet digging frantically into her shoes, trying to burrow down. She stepped lightly on its foot, squeezed its hand, silently telling it to calm down.

Xavi climbed to his feet, face flushed a deep, humiliating red.

He’d just made a complete fool of himself in front of Lauren.

“This is… also my first time carrying someone up these steps,” he said stiffly. “I didn’t expect the pressure to increase that much. Looks like there’s no cutting corners on the Heavenly Ladder. Heh. Sorry for the embarrassment.”

Lauren forced a polite smile.

After that, no one attempted any heroics.

It took them nearly half an hour to reach the top.

Waiting there was the sect leader of the Calculation Sect, Ulysses.

Lauren’s heart tightened at the sight of him.

He stroked his beard, eyes sharp yet smiling as he studied her.

“To possess such cultivation at your age… remarkable.”

Lauren bowed slightly. “It is only because my master teaches well.”

“Too modest,” Ulysses said lightly. “It is because you are different. I know.”

Lauren’s pulse quickened.

The Calculation Sect possessed the immortal artifact known as the Gossip Plate—an object said to glimpse fragments of heaven’s secrets.

If anyone could see through her circumstances, it would be him.

“Xavi told me you wished to see me,” Lauren continued.

His smile faded slightly. With a subtle gesture, he signaled Xavi to take the children away.

Xavi nodded and crouched down. “Come on, let’s go explore outside.”

Wayne and Briar both looked to Lauren.

She gave them a reassuring smile. “Go on. I’ll come find you soon.”

Xavi took Wayne’s hand with one hand—and without hesitation scooped Briar up again with the other.

He looked very pleased with himself. This time he was carrying the cute one.

Briar nearly burst into tears. One arm clung stiffly around Xavi’s neck as she looked desperately at Lauren.

What is wrong with this human cultivator? Why does he keep picking me up?

Little fairy, save me—

Lauren felt helpless. Briar’s outfit was just too damn adorable.

“Don’t be nervous,” she called gently. “Wayne’s with you.”

Briar looked like she was about to cry but endured it.

After all, right now she was just a small, harmless flower relying entirely on Lauren to survive.

Once they were out of sight, Ulysses’ expression turned completely serious.

“Lauren. Come with me.”

“Yes.”

He led her inward, through the sect’s inner sanctum.

Inside, another staircase spiraled upward—long, narrow, stretching toward the sky. She had noticed this tower from outside earlier. It pierced the clouds like a needle threading heaven itself.

Lauren stared at it in silent horror.

Don’t tell me we’re climbing that too.

Her legs were still weak from the Heavenly Ladder.

That damned staircase was not something one simply climbed with “higher cultivation.” Whether mortal or cultivator, it squeezed you dry all the same.

It was the kind of climb that made you swear you’d never fucking do it again.

“Mr. Ulysses,” she called out quickly, trying one last time.

“Yes?”

“…Can we talk here?”

He pointed upward calmly. “The Gossip Plate is kept at the very top.”

Lauren stared at the spiraling height.

“Do we have to walk?”

“Yes.”

She nearly died inside.

Did the Calculation Sect have some kind of collective masochistic obsession with stairs? So many ladders—and not one of them allowed flight.

Ulysses burst out laughing, clearly reading her thoughts.

“Relax. This staircase is not the Heavenly Ladder. There is no pressure here. With your cultivation, it will be easy.”

Lauren patted her chest and let out a breath.

Now that was more like it.

She followed behind him up the spiral steps as he continued speaking, the air growing quieter the higher they climbed.

“This tower,” Ulysses said as they climbed, his voice echoing faintly in the narrow spiral stairwell, “is the closest place to the heavens. Lauren, you are someone especially favored by heaven. Do you feel any difference here?”

She had been half-focused on not tripping over her own damn feet and hadn’t paid much attention to anything else.

Now that he mentioned it, she slowed her steps and turned her awareness inward.

The moment she did, her breath hitched.

Deep within her dantian, her immortal root stirred.

It wasn’t violent—just… brighter. Clearer. As if something in it had been polished clean.

Was that what he meant?

She kept her face carefully blank.

There was no way in hell she was revealing anything about her immortal root. She wasn’t about to offer up a fifth immortal artifact.

“No,” she said calmly. “I don’t feel anything unusual.”

Ulysses stroked his beard, smiling faintly but saying nothing.

Inside her inner space, Edmund’s voice suddenly rang out.

“This is where the Boundary Force is weakest. It’s…” He paused.

Then his tone shifted sharply. “…It really is the place closest to the sky.”

Lauren kept her expression neutral as she continued walking.

After a moment, she asked silently, “And? What does that mean?”

Edmund fell quiet for a long stretch. “…This might be a breakthrough.”

“For what?”

Another pause.

“When we return, I need to discuss this with your master.”

Lauren’s lips twitched.

“Don’t discuss it with me. Just follow him,” Edmund added curtly.

She scowled inwardly. Excuse me?

Are you my contracted beast, or my master’s?

Why does everything important get discussed with him instead of me?

By the time they reached the rooftop, the air had thinned and sharpened.

Just as Edmund said—this place truly felt different.

The sky seemed closer. Not metaphorically. Physically.

A cool, cleansing aura washed over her skin. At the same time, a faint but undeniable pressure pressed down from above—the Boundary Force.

Lauren slowly raised her hand.

There was nothing visible there. Yet she could feel something.

An invisible layer. A membrane. Something intangible but undeniably real.

The higher she lifted her hand, the stronger the sensation became.

Her breathing slowed. Step by step, she rose onto her toes. At her highest stretch, she gave a small hop.

Boom—

A sudden force slammed down on her. Her knees buckled instantly.

She crashed to the ground, the impact jarring through her bones.

Behind her, Ulysses chuckled softly.

“Even if the will of heaven does not reject you,” he said, “it will absolutely not permit you to break through that barrier right now.”

Lauren looked up sharply. “You mean… if someone breaks through that barrier, they ascend?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

“Then my master—”

Ulysses shook his head, smiling again. “No, no.”

Lauren stared at him. What kind of cryptic bullshit was this old man playing at?

“Come inside,” he said.

She cast one last look over the edge of the tower. Below her was nothing but drifting clouds. The occasional mountain peak pierced through the mist, but none came close to this height.

She followed him into the tower chamber.

At its center stood a massive, three-dimensional Gossip Plate. Ordinary gossip plates were flat, palm-sized divination tools.

This one was over a meter tall. Interlocking rings hovered in layered suspension, rotating slowly around a luminous core.

Lauren didn’t understand divination at all—but she had to admit, it looked cool as hell.

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