The Heroine Must Die

“Master,” she said softly, unable to hide the pride in her voice, “I did it.”

Drake nodded, eyes warm with approval. “Very good.”

She glanced around. “Master… where’s Edmund?”

“He—”

He didn’t finish. Dark clouds began gathering again. The sky darkened a second time.

Everyone nearby froze.

Logan blinked. “Wait. Lauren just advanced to Spirit Severing, right?”

“Yes,” Gerald said firmly. “That was definitely Spirit Severing.”

“Then what the hell is this? Who’s advancing now? There’s no one else on Starfell Summit… is there?”

A pause.

“Don’t tell me she’s advancing two realms at once?”

Gerald nearly choked. “Don’t talk nonsense! Advancing two levels at once? What do you think she is—trying to ascend straight to heaven?”

.......

On Starfell Summit, Lauren frowned slightly, staring toward the gathering clouds. That direction…

Wasn’t that the side courtyard assigned to Timothy?

Her heart skipped. Could he be advancing too?

She had seen Herbert personally hand him a storage ring stuffed full of resources. Herbert treated him like his own son. There was no way Timothy lacked treasures.

Still— An unhappy feeling crept into her chest.

“I didn’t expect Timothy to advance this fast,” Lauren muttered.

Drake gave a faint smile. “Good. You can go with him later.”

Lauren blinked. “Go with him? For what?”

“To retrieve the Boundary Breaking Stone.”

Her stomach dropped. I’m going to be sick. Team up with Timothy? For the Boundary Breaking Stone?

“I don’t want to,” she said bluntly. “Unless Indiana is dead, I’m afraid he’ll turn on me halfway through.”

Drake arched a brow but didn’t comment.

At that moment, the first bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, blasting Timothy straight out of his courtyard.

The tribulation would last nearly half an hour. Lauren didn’t bother watching. Instead, she turned, dug into her storage ring, and pulled out an eyeball-shaped stone.

“Master, look at this.”

Drake took it, turning it over in his palm. The stone looked like a petrified eye—veins faintly visible beneath its surface, the pupil dull but unsettling.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know,” Lauren admitted. “The first time I saw it was after I killed Indiana back home. It appeared out of nowhere and just… stared at me. Then it started striking me with lightning.”

She exhaled slowly.

“When I entered the sect and went through the Gate of Inquiry, I saw it again. It hit me then too. And during my breakthrough—when my inner demon appeared—it showed up again. So I dug it out.”

Drake looked at her. “So that’s why you ended up in such a miserable state.”

“It wasn’t exactly easy to pry off,” he added.

Lauren nodded. “It took everything I had.”

She hadn’t even had time to inventory her losses. Judging by the state of her shattered treasures, the damage must have been severe. But it was worth it.

Drake studied the stone again before handing it back.

“I don’t recognize it either. It’s likely something from the Upper Realm. When Edmund returns, ask him. He should know.”

Lauren accepted it, her gaze dark. She had a rough guess already.

This thing probably functioned like some kind of surveillance device—an intelligent strike system. It didn’t attack randomly. It struck only after she did certain things.

If it were manually controlled, she’d be dead by now.

With the time flow difference between the Upper Realm and the cultivation world, constant manual monitoring would be impossible.

Which meant… Something up there had been watching her.

“By the way, Master,” she asked, “where did Edmund go?”

“He went to the South Sea. It likely has something to do with that scaly dragon.”

Lauren nodded and didn’t press further.

Above them, thunder continued to roll. She turned her attention back to Timothy.

After taking that pill, he had fully recovered. His posture was steady, breath even, expression calm.

Lightning slammed into him— And he didn’t even twitch.

That physique… She couldn’t help the stab of envy.

“How many strikes so far?” she asked quietly. “Why hasn’t he dodged any?”

“Thirty-two,” Drake replied evenly.

Lauren: “…” He was just going to tank all thirty-six?

The final bolts came rapidly, one after another, each thicker and more violent than the last. As expected, Timothy didn’t dodge a single one.

All thirty-six heavenly lightning strikes descended—

And he endured every single bolt head-on.

Lauren felt a faint bitterness rise in her chest. Everyone said she was the one destined to break the deadlock. The so-called chosen one.

Yet when it came to raw advantages, she wasn’t even matching Indiana’s subordinate.

The clouds finally dispersed. Radiant light poured down. Another Spirit Rain followed.

Soon, Starfell Summit was crowded with disciples rushing to soak in the falling spiritual liquid.

Lauren didn’t hesitate. Free benefits were free benefits.

She sat down immediately and began absorbing as much Spirit Rain as possible while quietly checking her inner world.

When she extended her spiritual sense inside—

She froze. Her inner space had more than doubled in size.

And that wasn’t all. As she absorbed the Spirit Rain from outside, she sensed something unbelievable—

It was raining inside her inner space too.

Liquid spiritual energy fell from the sky of her private world, soaking into the soil, enriching the land, storing spiritual energy within it, nourishing everything that existed there.

Holy shit. Her lips curled. This was an insane advantage.

She focused completely. More. Give me more.

From now on, she decided, she would keep track of anyone about to advance realms. If someone was triggering a tribulation, she’d be there to share the Spirit Rain.

Later, she’d find Zane and make him help gather information.

No Spirit Rain would be wasted.

.......

An hour later, the rain stopped.

Timothy, refreshed and composed, walked toward Drake and bowed respectfully.

“Thank you, Immortal Venerable, for taking me in. Thank you, Miss Lauren, for your care these past days. Now that I’ve successfully advanced, I must return to find my master. Farewell.”

“Wait,” Drake said calmly.

Timothy paused. “Your master said he would come to fetch you. Stay here and wait.”

Timothy frowned slightly. He had already been here long enough.

Whatever was happening with Indiana, he felt it was something he needed to face personally. The letter his master had asked him to transcribe clearly stated—after Spirit Severing, go see her.

He should go now.

“Immortal Master,” Timothy said politely, “I’ve imposed for too long. It would be inappropriate to trouble you further.”

Drake waved a hand dismissively. “If you feel guilty, repair the mountains you damaged.”

Timothy turned.

The once-pristine peaks were a disaster—craters, shattered rock, scorched earth. Though new spiritual plants would sprout quickly after the rain, the devastation was obvious.

He nodded. Without another word, he picked up a shovel and walked toward the damaged slopes.

Lauren leaned closer to Drake and lowered her voice. “Master… are you planning to lock him up?”

“Not for now,” Drake replied lightly. He turned and sent a message to Herbert.

.......

Inside her inner space, Lauren conjured a water mirror and leaned closer.

Her reflection stared back at her—skin smooth and luminous, flawless as a peeled hard-boiled egg. Even the most obscene luxury skincare brands from her past life couldn’t fake this kind of texture.

Lightning strike facial therapy. Not bad at all.

She tilted her chin, admiring the glow for a while longer before finally getting down to business.

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