The Heroine Must Die

Far above, in the upper realm, two attendants guarding a formation array stared at the smoking, crackling structure in alarm.

“Is it breaking? How long has this array been running?”

“A hundred years? Two hundred at most.”

“It shouldn’t be failing already…”

Then what the hell was that sound?

Crack. A fissure the width of a finger split across the surface.

One attendant’s face went pale. “Shit. I’m going to report this. You check what’s happening!”

The other immediately opened his third eye. Through the haze of smoke and distortion, he saw a charred figure leaping through violent lightning—

And throwing things at their eye. The next second—

Boom.

The array exploded. The attendant was flung backward, landing hard on his backside. He stared blankly at the shattered fragments scattered across the floor.

There were dozens of arrays in this tower. All the others were intact.

So why the hell had this one blown apart?

.......

Lauren, blackened from head to toe, crashed back into Ice Cave—right in front of Drake.

His expression changed instantly. He rushed forward, shoved a pill between her lips, and tipped a drop of spiritual liquid into her mouth.

Ten-thousand-year spiritual milk. The very same treasure she had bought at auction as a gift for her master.

She’d ended up using it on herself first. The pill dissolved. The liquid slid down her throat.

Her depleted core surged with replenished spiritual energy. Burned flesh regenerated at visible speed. The charred blackness flaked away as new skin formed beneath.

Then the sky shifted. Wind howled. Clouds churned violently overhead, condensing into a true lightning tribulation.

This was the real one.

Lightning meant to cleanse, to refine marrow, to transform. Not the murderous kind from before.

Lauren shot out of the cave and faced the first bolt head-on.

It struck her crown. Her entire body went numb, muscles spasming as electricity tore through her meridians.

Not too bad.

The Spirit Severing stage required thirty-six bolts.

The first was only an appetizer.

She steadied her breathing and prepared for the second.

Dark clouds gathered again. The next strike came slower, but stronger. She gritted her teeth and took it directly.

At first, the interval between strikes was long. The power was manageable. But it wouldn’t stay that way.

Each bolt would grow fiercer. Each pause shorter.

.......

At the sect’s martial arena, disciples stared toward Starfell Summit.

Strange.

In all these years, no one had ever witnessed an advancement from Starfell Summit.

It was said that their breakthroughs were always concealed. So what the hell happened this time? Did they forget to hide it?

Gerald stood among the crowd, watching the roiling sky.

“That’s too fast…” he muttered.

Tarot wasn’t around. The only one who could be advancing now—Lauren.

He turned to Logan. “How old is she again?”

Logan thought for a moment. “She entered the sect twelve or thirteen years ago. She was thirteen at the time.”

Gerald raised a brow. “So she’s twenty-five? Twenty-six?”

“About that.”

Gerald’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding me. She’s about to enter Spirit Severing? Have you ever seen someone in their twenties reach that stage?”

Logan shook his head. Then nodded slightly. “You will.”

“…Hell.” Gerald exhaled sharply. “She’s practically defying the heavens.”

His emotions were tangled—pride, awe… and a faint, sour trace of regret.

.......

Back at Starfell Summit, Lauren had already endured twelve bolts.

The later strikes were brutal—faster, heavier, slamming into her before she could fully stabilize her breathing.

Her body was beginning to fail. She could no longer take them head-on.

In the desolate mountains, Briar and Wayne were in the middle of catching chickens when the sky began to darken.

Thunder rolled in the distance. The chickens went absolutely feral.

Feathers flew. Wings flapped. The whole yard dissolved into chaos as the birds scattered in every direction, terrified by the pressure building in the heavens.

“Damn it—get that one!” Briar shouted.

Wayne lunged and barely caught a squawking hen before it bolted into the trees. One by one, they rounded them up and shoved them back into the coop, slamming the doors shut.

Everyone in the valley kept glancing toward the dark clouds gathering above Starfell Summit.

......

By now, Lauren had endured twelve more bolts. Her spiritual energy was already half-drained.

Drake didn’t hesitate—he flung a set of lightning-resistant armor toward her.

She didn’t even have time to thank him. She caught it midair, pulled it over her battered body, and braced herself.

The next bolt came with a deafening roar. It blasted her straight into the ground.

Before she could even suck in a breath—

Boom.

Another strike. Lauren wiped blood from the corner of her mouth and forced herself back into the air.

The Gintama Sword flared in her hand, crackling violently. White light burst from its blade, so bright it hurt to look at.

“Come on then,” she muttered.

Boom!

Another bolt tore down from the heavens. Only a few remained.

She couldn’t afford to tank them directly anymore.

Clutching a lightning-repelling bead to her chest, she turned and ran, using movement techniques instead of brute force. As long as the last few didn’t kill her—

She’d make it. A bolt slammed into her back mid-flight.

Her body was hurled like a broken doll. She crashed straight into the chicken yard.

Briar’s face went white. It grabbed Wayne and shot into the air without hesitation.

Another bolt followed—

The ground where Lauren lay exploded, leaving behind a massive crater. Drake appeared instantly, shielding Wayne behind him.

“Grandmaster…” Wayne’s voice trembled. “Miss Lauren… she’ll succeed, won’t she?”

Drake gave a quiet hum of affirmation.

The latest strike had burned Lauren beyond recognition. Her flesh was torn and mangled. Charred black. Smoking.

And yet— She was still alive.

Inside her core, the Immortal Roots within her core began to merge with her Nascent Soul. Lightning energy poured inward and was devoured, transformed into vast life force.

The Nascent Soul pulsed. Her ruined body began repairing itself at visible speed.

Boom.

Another bolt. It slammed her back into the crater, shredding the newly formed flesh and blackening her again.

Her core remained intact. The regeneration continued.

Lauren gritted her teeth and forced herself upright. She barely crawled out of the pit—

And was blasted back in. This bolt was thicker. Heavier. Brutal.

This time she felt it in her bones. Something cracked. No—shattered.

Her body went limp. She lay in the bottom of the pit like a corpse, unable to move a single finger. Then—

The dark clouds began to disperse. Golden and rose-colored light poured down from the heavens.

At the sect’s martial arena, the crowd erupted.

“She did it!”

“Spirit Rain—hurry!”

Everyone launched into motion, rushing toward Starfell Summit with every movement technique they knew.

Gerald stood frozen, staring at the fading tribulation clouds.

“A Spirit Severing cultivator… in her twenties?” he muttered hoarsely. “That’s insane.”

Logan clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “That’s a story we’ll be bragging about for decades. Come on. Let’s go celebrate.”

.......

Under the descending rosy light, the wind peeled away Lauren’s charred skin like ash. Beneath it—

Smooth, delicate flesh.

Her Nascent Soul continued nourishing her body. Shattered bones reformed. Meridians stabilized. New blood surged.

She looked like she had been reborn. Fair skin glowing softly in the rose-gold light. Lauren slowly rose from the crater and sat cross-legged.

The Spirit Rain descended—pure spiritual energy condensed into liquid. Its density was almost terrifying.

She absorbed it quietly. One hour later, dressed in fresh robes, she stepped to Drake’s side.

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