Lauren stared bnkly. “What?”

  She’d never been married in her previous life. How the hell did this happen?

  Married—and to Timothy of all people? That wasn’t just unexpected, it was insane.

  How was she supposed to manipute anyone now that she was tying herself to a major sect through marriage?

  Lauren frowned deeply. The plot had gone completely off the rails.

  “Alright,” she said finally, massaging her temples. “Thanks for telling me.”

  Lauren collected the spirit stone reward from the top-ranked dy on the leaderboard, split it into four equal portions, and tucked three shares into three separate storage bags.

  With the previous prizes added in, their savings were already substantial. Once the others came out of seclusion, she’d give them their shares.

  Then, on a whim, she went down to the market and rented a private room at one of the best restaurants.

  She ordered a single bowl of noodles—with an egg.

  The waiter holding the menu looked at her like she’d just committed a crime.

  He opened his mouth, clearly torn between confusion and concern, as if about to suggest something more befitting a cultivator of her standing.

  Lauren tossed him a few spirit stones as a tip. That shut him up, and he left in a hurry.

  When the noodles arrived and the door closed behind the waiter, Edmund crawled zily out from her sleeve.

  He perched on the table, staring bnkly at the steaming bowl in front of him. “Why are you suddenly eating?”

  “Because I’m happy.” Lauren stirred in the chopped scallions and took a big slurp.

  The warmth spread through her chest—a taste she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

  “You’re already fasting,” Edmund said, tilting his head. “If it’s just for the taste, this kind of food won’t do you any good.”

  “I know,” Lauren replied, her tone teasing. “It’s just a bowl of noodles. I’m not eating for the sake of food.”

  If she really wanted food, she’d have ordered meat—lots of it.

  Edmund sighed. Humans were impossible to understand. Still, watching her slurp with such focus, he couldn’t help but feel curious.

  “Let me try it.”

  Lauren grinned, lifted a noodle with her fork, and dangled it in front of his mouth.

  Edmund craned his neck, opened his mouth, and slurped the end.

  Unfortunately, the noodle was longer than his entire body. Lauren kept lifting her fork, and Edmund—still chewing—was soon dangling midair like some tiny dragon-on-a-string.

  For a moment, she couldn’t resist.

  She gave her fork a gentle shake, making the little dragon sway back and forth.

  Who could resist teasing a miniature dragon with little horns? He was too cute.

  Realizing he’d been pyed, Edmund’s eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed the rest of the noodle—along with her fork.

  “…” Lauren stared at her now-empty hand.

  Edmund flicked his tail. His small form rippled, stretching back into his normal size. “Don’t underestimate me. My solid form may look real, but I’m just a wisp of soul. I can’t actually taste anything.”

  “Then why bother eating?”

  “I was curious. You seemed… odd.” His golden eyes narrowed. “Are you in trouble?”

  Lauren shook her head. “No. I’m just happy.”

  “Why?”

  Lauren didn’t answer right away. She picked up a fresh fork, finished the rest of the noodles in silence, then said softly, “Because I turned twenty today. I call these longevity noodles. I’ve lived past twenty—and I hope that means I’ll live forever.”

  Edmund blinked. “I see. But there’s only a faint trace of spiritual energy in the noodles. It would be more efficient to inhale the vapor.”

  Lauren smiled faintly. “You’re not human. You wouldn’t understand.”

  After a pause, she said, “By the way, I just spoke to Elder Zane. He said Indiana’s getting married. What do you think that means?”

  “Getting married means getting married. What’s there to think about?”

  Lauren stared at him. Of course—he didn’t know. He didn’t know she’d lived other lives, and that Indiana had never gotten married during her Core Formation stage before.

  “Aren’t we cultivators supposed to seek immortality? She was sent here on a mission, and now she’s getting married? Don’t you think that’s strange?”

  Edmund shrugged. “Her body’s suited for dual cultivation. Marriage was inevitable. The earlier she marries, the faster her progress will be. Nothing strange about it.”

  Lauren froze for a moment—then it hit her.

  Because of her interference, Indiana had missed a series of key opportunities. Her cultivation speed had slowed, and her progress had fallen behind.

  If things continued like this, she’d be left far behind the other prodigies of their generation.

  And if she couldn’t keep up with them, how could she possibly infiltrate their circle—let alone kill them one by one?

  So this was a correction.

  No—a backup pn. A contingency.

  Her physical condition had already been pre-set, and now the “backup program” had activated earlier than expected.

  Lauren smmed her fork onto the table with a sharp crack. “Do you have any way to help me cultivate faster?”

  Edmund flicked his tail. “Tsk. Your body is not fit for dual cultivation.”

  “I’m not talking about dual cultivation,” Lauren snapped. “I’m talking about other methods.”

  He went quiet for a moment, then muttered, “Then… come on?”

  “…” Lauren’s eyebrow twitched. “You might as well just say I can rely on lucky.”

  Edmund gave a small snort. “You can’t rely on luck.”

  Wait—I can’t even get lucky anymore?

  “If you really want to speed up through chance,” Edmund said zily, “then spend more time around Dante and Westin. If you don’t have good fortune yourself, leech off someone else’s.”

  Lauren blinked. “That… actually works?”

  “Your enemies might be lucky too,” Edmund added. “So rob them.”

  Her eyes lit up. “That’s… a pretty good idea.”

  Without another word, she scooped Edmund up and tucked him back into her sleeve.

  Time was slipping away. Heaven hadn’t given her much to spare.

  She had to push toward Nascent Soul as fast as possible.

  If Timothy and Indiana really started dual cultivating, their progress would skyrocket—and she’d never catch up.

  A single year bedridden wasn’t enough. This time, she had to make sure Indiana stayed in bed for at least three. That would ruin her momentum entirely—and make dual cultivation impossible.

  Lauren had already prepared a rge stockpile of elixirs and ice crystals.

  But to make her breakthrough even more effective, she decided to borrow an Ice Cave from Drake.

  She found him on Sky-curtain Peak and bowed. “Master, I’m pnning to reach the Nascent Soul stage soon. May I borrow your Ice Cave?”

  Drake nodded slowly. “You may borrow it. But you’re not allowed to break through just yet.”

  Lauren blinked. “Huh? Why not?”

  “You’ve been pushing yourself too hard,” Drake said, his tone firm. “Since returning from your st trip, you’ve done nothing but train. You’re too eager for quick success.”