Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Fear

He was the one who had switched the makeup and framed her, and Ashton had been part of the plan as well.

They had done it deliberately, just to disgrace her, to turn her humiliation into a stepping stone for Brenda.

Hearing this, Lana clenched her fists, anger surging violently through her veins.

She wanted to stand up and confront them right then and there.

Mr. Crow saw the rebellious fire flare in her eyes, bright and furious.

Yet, for some reason, it died out almost instantly. Lana relaxed her grip, her expression turning cold and distant as she remained seated, unmoving.

Mr. Crow was furious. He wanted to shake her awake, to tell her to fight back.

He wanted nothing more than to slap Ashton across the face. But this was only a projection, a vision he could not interfere with.

Then he heard Lana murmur softly, almost to herself,

“I can’t confront Ashton and my fiancé. If I do, they’ll expose the fact that they already look down on me and want to kick me out. Right now, they’re still pretending. If I tear off that mask, they’ll become even more ruthless.”

Her voice grew quieter. “I need to survive.”

Mr. Crow felt an overwhelming helplessness wash over him. He knew that in this life, in this vision, Lana was not a powerful mystic cultivator.

She hadn’t even awakened as a soul cultivator. In a place like Xila City, she wouldn’t survive at all.

The more he thought about it, the heavier Mr. Crow’s heart became. The truth was undeniable. Lana’s past life had been unbearably pitiful.

By the time the vision shattered completely, dissolving like smoke in the air, Mr. Crow finally understood something clearly.

Ashton’s words earlier had triggered that memory. Once again, Ashton wanted to use Lana as a stepping stone, just as he had done before.

Mr. Crow slowly turned his head and looked at Ashton’s retreating figure, his lips curling into a cold sneer.

“So you really enjoy stepping on others to climb higher,” he muttered under his breath.

His eyes darkened as he continued in a low, venomous tone,

“Then one day, you too will become someone else’s stepping stone.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the curse power within him surged violently.

Normally, his curses were casual, half-hearted things. But this time was different.

For the first time, he spoke from the depths of his heart. He genuinely meant every single word.

The curse magnified instantly, its effect multiplying several times over as invisible waves of malice spread out silently.

Meanwhile, Ashton remained completely unaware that a curse had already been laid upon him. If he had known, fear would have swallowed him whole on the spot.

Lana, hearing Mr. Crow’s muttering beside her, couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

“You really know how to take these people seriously,” she said lightly. “They’re not even worth our attention.”

With that, she continued walking forward, her back straight and her steps steady.

As for the slap Ashton had given her earlier, it barely lingered in her mind.

In her previous life, she had indeed been slapped by Ashton and turned into nothing more than a stepping stone for others.

Later on, she had made sure Ashton tasted the same pain by taking revenge in the exact same way.

Yet the strangest part was that she hadn’t felt any joy when she succeeded.

’Why do people feel happiness after revenge?’ she wondered silently. ’Is it because they were wronged too deeply, or is it simply because they have vengeful hearts?’

She had never once felt satisfaction from revenge. What remained afterward was only emptiness.

Because no matter how perfect the revenge was, it could never undo the damage already done. Some things, once broken, could never be restored.

However, that didn’t mean she would choose silence. Revenge was necessary.

Without it, people would be trampled endlessly, turned into scapegoats, and even after dying, no one would ever know what crime they had supposedly committed.

Lana entered the university grounds as usual and headed straight toward the Mystic Department.

She could feel someone following her footsteps closely.

This time, however, she didn’t bother hiding. It no longer mattered.

Everyone would eventually know that she was a mystic cultivator. She was already at Yellow Rank, and had even reached the mid-stage of Yellow Rank.

’If luck favors me,’ she calculated calmly, ’I might reach Earth Rank by the end of this month.’

Once she reached Earth Rank, she would be capable of dealing with nearly ninety-five percent of the people in this entire city. That confidence was her capital. Even if someone followed her, she could continue walking without fear.

The person tailing her was none other than Brenda.

The moment Brenda saw Lana enter the Mystic Cultivation Department, her eyes widened in shock.

“How can Lana have awakened as a mystic cultivator?” she murmured in disbelief.

Her fingers curled tightly into fists as countless thoughts raced through her mind. After a long moment, she muttered softly,

“I need to inform my mentor.”

She quickly sent a message, but the moment it was delivered, panic surged in her heart.

Her lips pressed tightly together as she realized something terrifying.

If her mentor learned that Lana had awakened such talent, there was a high chance that she herself would be abandoned.

Without hesitation, she deleted the message.

Pretending she hadn’t seen anything, Brenda turned around and left.

She didn’t even dare to inform the Almond family about Lana’s awakening.

If they found out, there was a strong possibility they would chase Lana down and bring her back.

After all, the reason they had chosen Brenda so decisively back then was because she had awakened as a Dream Warden, even though she looked like a country bumpkin at the time.

After three months of relentless effort, she had barely managed to catch up to where Lana stood today.

’If they discover Lana’s true talent and potential,’ Brenda thought bitterly, ’they’ll forget about me completely.’

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