Compared to his own safety, Ling Tian was more worried about Xiao Shi's. After all, Xiao Shi was somewhat less capable of protecting himself. But if Xiao Shi could break through to the Near-Saint Sixteenth Heaven, these problems would no longer be problems, because he could make up for his lack of life-saving abilities with his strength. It made sense: if Xiao Shi could break through to the Near-Saint Sixteenth Heaven, he could fight Venerable Sword Saint head-on to a considerable extent. What was more, by then, Chi Xue and the others would barely pose any threat to him. In that case, staying alive would hardly be a problem.
"That's true," Po Qiong said, then murmured to himself, "I just wonder when the Lord of the Universe will assign the mission, when it will officially begin, and whether Xiao Shi will have a chance to break through to the Near-Saint Sixteenth Heaven."
"No one can guarantee that. All we can do is give everything we have to improve our strength," Ling Tian said. Then he chuckled. "Fortunately, we still have some time. In the time ahead, I can kill more of Chi Xue and the others. Each person I kill will ease our burden a little and give us a better chance of completing the mission."
Po Qiong understood that, but said nothing more. He continued helping Ling Tian wear down and kill Chi Xue's people.
Time drifted by. In the blink of an eye, another two or three thousand years passed. With Ling Tian's strength increasing and the cultivators on Chi Xue's side growing ever more worn down, more than a dozen of them had been killed during that time. That was nearly half as many as he had killed over the previous ten thousand years, yet it had