Fairy Meng Shang had advanced to the verge of the Near-Sage level, and Wu Ling and the others were showing signs of a breakthrough as well. This left them thrilled. After all, if Wu Ling and the others advanced too, they would no longer have to worry about the alliance of the God Realm's major powers attacking them—even though that alliance already had more than ten Near-Sage experts.
Moreover, after all these years, Ling Tian, Feng Lingzi, and the others had grown much stronger. They had already been able to face Near-Sage experts and even had a chance to suppress them before, so now they had even less reason to worry about the alliance attacking. That remained true even if the alliance attacked right away.
What disappointed Wu Ling and the others a little was that Ling Tian and the others had not advanced by an entire major realm. Even Xiao Shi, who should have had the easiest time breaking through, had yet to advance. He was still at the verge of the Near-Sage level, and no one knew when he would finally break through.
It was worth noting that three or four tenths of the Origin Power from the Beast Soul Realm, which Xiao Shi's Small World had devoured and assimilated, still remained. By his estimate, he would reach the Near-Sage level once he had fully refined that Origin Power. However, refining what remained would take a long time. Even with his Small World now much larger and his mental control far stronger than before, it would probably take tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand years, for him to break through. It was unclear whether the alliance of the God Realm's major powers would give him that much time.
Fortunately, Xiao Shi's strength was steadily increasing,