--


    Time flows fast whenever he''s here.


    No, it isn''t because someone was deliberately messing with his perception or interfering with the flow of time; he''s just really upied that he forgets how much time passes by.


    In a blink of an eye, he had already spent 10 years here. It wasn''t that long, but it''s a considerable amount of time, too.


    Cedric has been making decent progress in his trials; at the Trial of Mind, he has found a way to breakthrough the cage; at the Trial of Body, he could alreadyst for a whole day.


    As for the Trial of Spirit, this one''s a little moreplicated.


    The trial was rather simple, as most of the trials were, but that doesn''t mean that it''s easy. He just needed to make an impactful change in his past. The caveat is that he could only nt a single subconscious/subliminal thought or idea in his incarnation. Once he decides what it''s going to be, the trial will begin, and his youngest memories will y out before him.


    Chapter Discover:


    He will be inplete immersion right away; at first, he would remain conscious enough to know that he''s in a trial, but that wouldn''tst long. Eventually, he will lose himself in it and could only hope that the arrangements he made before the immersion make a substantial difference since that''s the only way he''d clear this trial.


    What makes this hard were the unique stiptions of the trial. He could only nt a single subconscious influence on his psyche and hope that things go well.


    At first, he used ideas like be more observant, be more hardworking, be smarter, be braver, etc. But all of them failed to make any difference.


    Initially, he thought that if he could do something before theplete immersion happens (the part at the start of the trial where he''s still aware that he''s in a trial), he could also leave more influence behind and steer the attempt in the direction he had in mind.


    But the mechanics of the trial were thorough, making all attempts at this fail.


    The only real way to pass this trial was to leave behind a conclusive and extremely detailed subconscious thought as the memory ys out and hope that it does the job. So far though, no such luck of that happening. Fortunately, he isn''t pressed with time yet and could still afford to experiment some more.


    Cedric disliked this trial because it forced him to live out the worst moments of his life. He was forced to witness the death of his loved ones again and again, even though he tried his best to change its oue.


    The pain doesn''t go away; it won''t numb with constant exposure either. To Cedric, it feels just as painful as if he first experienced it, and he''s convinced that nothing will change that at this point.


    But for the sake of the future, he had to endure this; he had to pass this trial despite his growing dislike of it.


    On another note, Cedric''s cultivation has been advancing at a decent pace since returning here.


    Last time, he reached the 1-star Grand Sr Grandmaster stage in Life Evolution. He remained stuck at this stage because of the poor energy density on Prime Earth and on Sris Prime in general. But now, he has already reached the mid-two-star stage within 10 years of returning.


    He had to thank the privilege he received from the tower for this. If they hadn''t upgraded the spiritualke in his private room, his progress would''ve remained slow.


    His mastery over skills has long since reached the acme. Now, his focus was on studying Grand Sr Concept Laws to build a solid foundation to reach the cosmic realm in life evolution.


    It''s still a long way to go, and he''s still not exposed to the true conditions on how to reach that realm, but he''s certain that his understanding of conceptws will y a huge role in it, so he''s building it up as early as now.


    Cedric has no need to change his cultivation techniques just yet. What he had right now was decent enough until he reaches the peak of the Grand Sr Realm.


    He also had enough techniques and skills to cover his specialties, so he had no reason to acquire or buy more. If anything, he should be making his own techniques now. After all, the path he paved for himself will be the most suitable one for him to walk on.


    Aside from training, cultivating, and making attempts at the trials, Cedric would either recall fond memories of him and his wife or check if any of his friends here have returned. These were all the avable things for him to do here anyway.


    Sadly, none of his fellow challengers have returned yet. Which just solidified the idea that they must''ve experienced some idents even more.


    He couldn''t help but worry. After all,pared to his home, theirs were far more advanced and richer. Anything they consider a problem would trante into a world-ending threat to Prime Earth, and the fact that all of them were missing didn''t sit well with him.


    To this end, he decided to use his ace. He contacted Ac, who also returned here the same time as he did to receive more training and be a more important member of the tower, and asked her if something''s wrong with Prime Earth.


    Fortunately, there''s nothing wrong, making Cedric sigh in relief. Ac wouldn''t lie to him about her state since she knows how much work Cedric put in to ensure herplete recovery. Since Prime Earth was her actual body, she could sense what''s happening to it even when she''s in the tower.


    Ac could even update him about his wives if he so desired, but Cedric didn''t bother asking. It''s enough to him that his home was safe, because if it was, then it means that his wives are also safe.


    He didn''t want to abuse this backdoor too much since he''s already pushing his luck. The fact that the tower staff allowed something like this (and yes, they allowed it. Cedric doesn''t believe, even for a second, that his connection to Ac wasn''t known to the tower staff) could already be considered cheating, yet they ignored it.


    Cedric didn''t want to identally disqualify himself because of carelessness.


    **


    "Howler? Eunuch Wei? And...is that you, Backpack Fatty!? Geez guys, you look like shit. What happened?"


    A couple more years passed in Cedric solitude. One day, as he was about to start his routine activities, he sensed the presence of three people appearing in the lobby.


    It was Howler the Werewolf, Eunuch Wei of the Angel n, and Backpack Fatty the Mountain Giant who looked thinner and sick for some reason.


    Actually, all three of them look sick. Howler was missing patches of his fur; there''s also arge diagonal scar on his chest, which looked rtively fresh. Eunuch Wei looked as if he hadn''t slept in years. The vibrancy of his aura and his wings had dimmed a lot; there were dark circles under his eyes, and his overall expression was downcast.


    Backpack Fatty showed the most distressing change. His pudgy belly shrank a lot, and his craggly skin (due to being a mountain giant) looked dry and stained with some dark patches here and there. His whole being exuded overwhelming exhaustion, and his mood was definitely somber.


    "Oh, Dawnbringer! Hey, man. Long time no see." Howler greeted with a hoarse voice. Eunuch Wei and Backpack Fatty waved at him too, but they seemed too tired to say anything.


    Their fatigued state rmed Cedric a lot. It wouldn''t have been surprising if only one of them was like that, but for all three of them to appear like this and at the same time too? Yeah, something''s definitely up. And Cedric could feel it in his bones that he knew what it was, or else he''de to regret it.


    "Sit down, you three; I''ll make some food. It sure looks like you three need it."


    The mention of feed caused their eyes to light up, followed by the thunderous rumbling of their stomach. The loudest ones were Howler''s and Backpack Fatty.


    Embarassed by their state, Backpack Fatty smiled shyly at him and said, "Sorry to trouble you; I certainly won''t refuse."


    "Same here. Thanks, man. You''re a lifesaver."


    "I, as well, if you don''t mind. I haven''t eaten anything decent in a long while."


    "No problem. Just sit down and rx. Try not to think too much for now; we''re in the tower so you''re safe. I''ll be back in a jiffy." Cedric responded before making his way to the kitchen.


    Actually, the kitchen utensils were already moving before he even came close to the area. He''s actually controlling them through telekic force. Fortunately, the tower has never been stingy with food supplies, so Cedric decided to make a goddamn feast because it sure as hell looks like they need it.


    Their state was truly rming, and if he wants to know what happened, he better makes themfortable to talk first.


    And what better way to do that than ensuring that they''re well fed first? So, a feast it is.