Ling Tian and the others hadn't been "watching" Venerable Sword Saint and the six others undergo their tribulations simply to find out whether they would succeed. More importantly, they wanted to use what they saw to gauge the Lord of the Universe's strength. After all, they would face the Ultimate Lightning Tribulation themselves one day. Knowing how powerful the Lord of the Universe was would prepare them mentally and give them a better chance of succeeding, breaking free of his control.
To their disappointment, however, they couldn't tell how powerful the Lord of the Universe was from what they'd seen. Venerable Sword Saint had clearly still had strength to spare. Once Ling Tian and the others realized this, their expressions turned grave.
It made sense. If they could learn how strong the Lord of the Universe was, even if he could easily kill Venerable Sword Saint and the others, that would be a good thing. Then Ling Tian and the others would have a goal to strive toward. They would know how powerful they had to become to survive the tribulation and break free of the Lord of the Universe's control. That would give them hope, at least, and show them that success was still possible.
But now they had no idea how powerful the Lord of the Universe was. He might even have been holding a great deal back. Like countless other cultivators, they were filled with despair, and it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Throughout history, countless cultivators had fallen to the Ultimate Lightning Tribulation. Now Venerable Sword Saint and the others had failed and perished as well, undoubtedly robbing many of their confidence. Despair took root, and for many cultivators, it refused to leave. Many were driven to the brink of collapse, and even Ling Tian