In Shen Wei and the others' eyes, Ling Tian and his companions had already been incredibly lucky to obtain the Great Thousand Worlds. Without the Creation Divine Tree's help, even if they could open Small Worlds, they wouldn't open many—certainly not as many as the cultivators of the Sacred Heart Sect.
Shen Wei and the others knew all too well how much each additional Small World strengthened a cultivator. In their minds, if Ling Tian and his companions couldn't open many Small Worlds, they wouldn't pose much of a threat. Shen Wei even thought that, though Ling Tian had broken through ahead of him, his strength might not have increased as much. In other words, they still had a chance to capture Ling Tian without needing their master to step in.
But then the Creation Divine Tree poured cold water on them. It asked what they would do if Ling Tian and the others opened even more Small Worlds—more than Shen Wei's group had opened. The question made it clear that Ling Tian and the others hadn't merely succeeded in cultivating the Great Thousand Worlds; they had also opened several Small Worlds, even more than Shen Wei's group.
"How is that possible? How could Ling Tian and the others have opened more Small Worlds than we have? We spent countless millennia, and only succeeded in opening so many with your help, Senior Creation. Ling Tian and the others don't have your help." Shen Ling looked utterly incredulous. "Most importantly, they've been in the Sacred Ruins Abyss for only a little over a hundred thousand years. That's far too short a time compared to ours. It's practically impossible for them to have opened several Small Worlds in that time."
"Exactly. We all know how difficult it is to open several Small