CHAPTER 752: SPIRE ASCENSION (XXII)

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The audience found it comical to see Cedric wearing a large frown on his face whilst his hands were busy stuffing his face with food.

He looked like a squirrel gorging on nuts whilst wary of his surroundings, watching out for any predators.

His alertness was for a good reason, though. The portal he usually entered that takes him to the floors of the spire has disappeared. Not even a trace of it remained; not a single speck or orb of light was in sight.

It wasn’t invisible. His eyes would’ve, at least, caught a slight disturbance in his surroundings, and he would’ve seen hints. But there were none. While it could truly be invisible and his eyes just couldn’t see it, the likelihood of this was very low, and Cedric didn’t believe that this was the case.

The reason being is because the platform of cubes has yet to rise to another level again.

On the previous floors, after he cleared 10 floors, the platform of cubes rose higher in the spire, taking him to a different biome. It starts off at the bleakest and most desolate area and goes up to a lush and vibrant one.

Cedric just cleared the 99th floor, yet the platform of cubes remained still here. Even after he’s nearly done with his meals, it still hasn’t moved. And now, the portal leading to the 100th floor, and whatever may come afterwards, disappeared.

He had a feeling that these two things were somehow connected, but he can’t prove it just yet.

Cedric didn’t concern himself too much for now, as he’s busy recovering. After eating his fill and cleaning himself up, he proceeded to sleep. One that lasted for two whole weeks.

Yes, the 99th floor exhausted him that much. Although he had already healed the wounds and injuries he got from that intense fight, he was still spent and was in no condition to be in another battle. So, he rested.

Though in truth, he could’ve continued. Cedric actually wasn’t that tired. Sure, he spent some energy, but it was far from his limits. He’s just putting on an act. He didn’t want his potential enemies to discover where his actual limits lie.

He was fine after three days of rest, but for the sake of putting on an act, he extended it to two whole weeks.

During his two weeks of sleep, the audience patiently waited. The broadcast focused on other participants who were struggling with their ascent, and while their performances were good, they were simply overshadowed by Cedric’s brilliance.

They were strong; nobody will take that away from them. It’s just that they pale in comparison to Cedric, who’s way ahead of them in all aspects. Because while they’re still struggling with the True Dragons and the Horde, Cedric has already reached the presumed pinnacle of the spire.

Actually, only three more participants were still fighting in the spire aside from Cedric. Everybody else had forfeited and returned to reality, where their faces were slapped with the truth.

They went through the five stages of grief after learning just how inadequate they were compared to Cedric and could do nothing but simply accept the cruel truth.

Some have already recovered; these people are even rooting for Cedric at this point and are also (im)patiently waiting for him to continue his climb.

**

So, just like that, two weeks have passed.

Cedric opened his eyes, stood up abruptly, and proceeded to stretch his body. He felt more than energetic at this point. Still, he wasn’t in a rush.

He warmed up his body first and foremost. Only when he was confident that he was ready did he decide to figure out where to go from here.

And as if noticing his determination, a message popped up before his eyes, saying:

[Would you like to start the final challenge? ]

This message suddenly appearing before him shocked Cedric for a moment. This was the first time this spire ever asked for his opinion; it has never done this before or to anybody else.

The audience also saw this message, and once again, Cedric was placed under a direct spotlight.

"Yes," he simply replied, assuming that the spire could hear him.

And it did.

The message disappeared, and all of a sudden, Cedric felt the platform of cubes moving once more.

It rose to another height. The rise went on for a while, and when it stopped, Cedric found himself in a completely different place.

He’s no longer in a world filled with lush greens and vibrant life. He was in space. He’s surrounded by a vast and endless velvety blanket dotted with silver sparkles and milky swirls at a distance.

The atmosphere felt raw and primal. It made him feel small and in awe at the same time. He could sense life all around him, raw and vibrant, yet it also felt incredibly distant from him.

The strange thing is that this space felt real, unlike the simulations he saw previously. It also made him feel the same fluttering excitement and anticipation he felt when he stepped into the Primitive Universe for the first time ever.

The platform of cubes stopped rising. There it remained, suspended in the middle of nowhere. The golden portal leading to the final challenge hasn’t appeared yet, but Cedric wasn’t all too concerned since he was thinking that maybe it’s going to be different here.

But as if to refute him, the golden portal suddenly swirled into existence shortly after.

Its radiance illuminated everything within a hundred miles like a miniature sun. It took a while before it stabilized, and when it did, Cedric took a step forward to it, thinking that he needed to enter it one final time to arrive at the site of the final challenge.

However, something made him pause in his approach.

He frowned and looked warily at the portal. His alertness was noticed by the audience, especially since he brought his sword out. They all looked at the portal, and soon, it proved why Cedric’s wariness was on point.

Someone stepped out of the portal.

From its silhouette, it’s a human. And when all the flashing lights and the obscuration faded, a shocking sight was revealed.

"Oh. Oh my, so this is how it’s going to be, huh?" Cedric muttered to himself; amusement was thick in his tone.

"Oh, yes. It’s exactly what you’re thinking," the person who stepped out of the portal replied. "Yes, I can talk. Shocking, I know, but calm down."

Cedric stared at his mirror image in amusement and clicked his tongue. Even he couldn’t see a single flaw in this copy. From his face, height, body shape, skin complexion, eye color, and hairstyle, down to even his clothing and accessories, everything was the same as his. There were no flaws at all.

And yes. Apparently, for the final challenge, Cedric must face himself.

It wasn’t just Cedric who was shocked by this reveal. The audience, the hosts, even the councillors and the other races were shocked too.

"So? How does it feel to be me?" Cedric asked his clone.

"Pretty great, actually," the clone replied, highly amused by this conversation. "But at the same time, very uncomfortable. I don’t like the idea that I’m being used as a test. You’re me, and the original too, so I know you understand."

"I do." Cedric nodded in all seriousness.

Indeed, he understood. Since this clone was a copy of him, he assumed that every aspect of him was taken into consideration, and of course, that includes his unyielding will.

His unyielding will makes this uncomfortable for both of them. Cedric never liked the idea of being forced to do something he doesn’t want to do. Even more so, the idea of being enslaved.

"I assume you can’t go against your creators, then?" He asked his clone.

"I would’ve already if I could; we both know that."

"Right, sorry. Stupid question." Cedric scratched his head. "So? I guess we kill each other then?"

"Not quite," the clone replied. "You already passed the test of the spire by clearing the 99th floor. If you want to, you can be rewarded anytime you want. We don’t really have to fight."

Cedric stared at his clone for a bit and said, "I’m sensing a ’but’ there."

"There is, and a pretty big ’but’ too," the clone jested.

"Like I said, you can get your rewards now and walk away. Your reward is a straight-up upgrade in your cultivation. You’d jump from Immortal Warrior to Immortal Emperor at once."

"This upgrade won’t destabilize your foundations. In fact, it would even bolster them. It also includes all the possible concept law achievements you could theoretically gain based on your potential."

Whistles

"Nice." Cedric was impressed.

Here he thought that this awful spire will remain stingy till the end. It turns out that it’s just holding on to the right moment.

"And if I stayed and insisted on fighting you?"

"Well, it’s either I defeat you or you defeat me," the clone replied. "If I defeat you, I won’t kill you. We’re already past that point. You’d be kicked out of the spire and miss out on the rewards available."

"If you defeat me, however, your rewards will be multiplied, meaning that instead of upgrading you to the Immortal Emperor Stage, you’d instead be upgraded all the way to the Universe Master Stage."

"And this includes a bonus of allowing you to pick one concept law taken to the Heavenly Law stage."