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[Welcome back, Dawnbringer.]
The cheerful and mechanical voice of the tower's AI greeted him the moment he appeared at The Lobby. Cedric felt a strong nostalgia despite the familiar sight around him.
'I still returned here earlier than I intended.' Cedric thought to himself.
He glanced at the familiar interior of the lobby and still felt the same ironic feeling as if he never left home with how familiar everything in here was to him. It wasn't because he spent a lot of time here but because all the items, furniture, and even some of the interior design of the lobby bear a striking resemblance to human aesthetics.
Originally, Cedric wanted to wait until he's at least 100 years old in his world before returning here. He had up until 500 years old before he was disqualified anyway, so he wanted to accompany his wives and their future children for some time before facing any challenges that remain here for him.
However, his wives insisted that they're fine and that he could leave with the assurance that they'd still be safe and sound until he returns. He did all that he could to ensure not only theirs but also the entire humanity's safety, and he should trust his judgement.
They didn't want to be an excessive burden to him. Just as he wanted the best for them, they too want Cedric to reach his full potential, and they all knew that Cedric has completely outgrown Prime Earth already.
After scanning his surroundings for a bit, Cedric took a deep breath and checked himself to see if he could sense something different.
There was a difference, and it's pretty obvious to him. After all, he did return here this time with his physical body. To him, this place can no longer be mistaken as a virtual reality. Well, it never was to begin with, but since only his consciousness was sent here in addition to the time difference between here and his reality, it never felt'real' to him.
Back then, he sometimes felt that this place was just a virtual reality created to help out the poor people of the lower worlds.
But it's different now. The clear and crisp feedback he's receiving by interacting with this place made everything feel more real. It feels weird, but it's something he had to get used to as soon as he could.
"Am I still using my old room here?" Cedric asked the AI.
[Indeed. But there have been some upgrades now that you've returned. Please check them out yourself. If you need any further assistance, don't hesitate to ask.]
"Upgrades, huh?" Cedric was amused.
He began making his way to his private room here. So far, he hasn't seen any of the friends he made here. He figured that they must've been busy. The group chat has also been strangely quiet recently. Even the most talkative ones like Howler, Backpack Fatty, Morning Wood, and Eunuch Wei had been strangely silent lately.
It made Cedric wonder if something happened while he's gone or if they're just really too busy to make some noise.
Of course, the difference between a C-grade and an A-grade Spiritual Lake was immense. Comparing the two wouldn't be fair at all.
That see of clouds earlier? Yeah, that's no ordinary cloud. It never was and never will. Those were formed from the excessive abundance of energies here. That's the 'lake' part of this A-grade Spiritual Lake.
The air in this place was already overcharged with energy. Just by taking deep breaths, Cedric could feel himself relaxing, and his strength was steadily rising as well, but at a snail's pace.
But if he were to actively cultivate here, though? His progress will be much faster than this.
The clouds out there were formed from the excessive condensation of enegies here. Cedric could freely devour them to advance his cultivation even further.
All in all, this was a wonderful upgrade. One that Cedric never expected he was going to get. And that made him curious.
"System? Why the sudden upgrades? I don't want to sound suspicious of your generosity, but I don't remember doing anything that prompts this change."
[It's a service upgrade, Dawnbringer. You deserve it for making it this far at the trials. Besides, the previous environment you're in will only stagnate your cultivation. And as one of the tower's challengers, we're not keen on letting your potential wither when we can obviously do something about it.
[Don't fret, Dawnbringer. We won't charge any additional fees for this upgrade. We simply gave you what you deserved.
[Besides, we're only lending you this place, so don't feel burdened. We suggest you take advantage of it as much as you can while you're here.]
"I see. Thanks!"
That made sense. He shouldn't care about why they gave him these things. He should just be happy that he got them and make sure he makes the most of it.
"Well, I'm not in a hurry to go into the trials right now. I should re-familiarize myself in my full power again since I couldn't do so in Prime Earth."
Cedric felt that if he released the true weight of his aura on Prime Earth, he would cause some disaster. After all, he's too strong for that world.
However, this place was different. He could already tell that this place could not only endure whatever he could dish out but also make things more interesting for him.
And so, now that he has a playground, he figured that it's best to re-discover just how powerful he truly was so that he could be ready for his upcoming 6th trials.