Chi Xue and the others were still worried that Ling Tian's side might choose to merge with Ancient Divine Beasts. That would greatly increase Ling Tian and his companions' strength, to the point where neither they nor the other factions could threaten them anymore. It was easy to see why: even without merging with Ancient Divine Beasts, Ling Tian and his companions were invincible among those of the same rank and could even defeat enemies of a higher realm. And merging with Ancient Divine Beasts would raise a cultivator's cultivation realm by a great deal.
"But our people have been monitoring Ling Tian's elite squad this whole time, and they haven't merged with any Ancient Divine Beasts," Shi Lin objected.
"The cultivators we sent to scout the God Realm aren't very powerful, and Ling Tian and the others are exceptionally skilled at concealing their auras and disguising themselves. It's only natural that our people didn't notice," Shi Meng said gravely. Then she changed tack. "Besides, they've all mastered Sacred Beast Seven-Style Severing Slash, which makes it even harder for our people to tell whether they've merged with Ancient Divine Beasts."
Before anyone could speak, she continued, "Maybe Ling Tian and the others can use Sacred Beast Seven-Style Severing Slash precisely because they've already merged with Ancient Divine Beasts. Our people may simply have been fooled by them during the scouting."
At this, everyone fell silent. They agreed that it was entirely possible. The thought that Ling Tian and the others might really have merged with Ancient Divine Beasts darkened their expressions. If Ling Tian's group had done so, then every cultivator on his side would merge with one, raising their overall strength several times over, perhaps even more.
"Actually, not everyone on Ling Tian's side needs to merge with an