As Ling Tian's cultivation advanced, each breakthrough took longer than the last, let alone a breakthrough to a whole new major realm. At this rate, it would take him one or two hundred thousand years to advance by one major realm. The next breakthrough would take even longer—perhaps several hundred thousand years, or even over a million. If a single major breakthrough took that long, then reaching the Thirty-sixth Heaven of Near-Saint would undoubtedly take an incredibly long time. He might not manage it even after a million years, or several million. Once he realized this, a sense of urgency rose within him despite himself.
That made sense. According to the ancient text Third Blade Emperor had obtained, cultivators could only be certain of reaching the sage level after breaking through to the Thirty-sixth Heaven of Near-Saint. Even if Ling Tian's talent was so extraordinary that he didn't have to reach the Thirty-sixth Heaven of Near-Saint, he would probably still need to reach the Thirty-fourth or Thirty-fifth Heaven. At this rate, advancing to that level might take a million years, or even several million. Hua Min'er and the rest of his friends and family would surely never last that long. Thinking of this, Ling Tian naturally grew restless, even though he knew full well that worrying about it would do no good.
Ling Tian's cultivation had slowed considerably, and the same was true of Chi Xue and the others. They were growing restless too, which in turn unsettled the cultivators around them. It was already affecting their daily cultivation and sparring.
"Ling Tian, you can't keep going like this. Everyone's on edge, and in this state, neither cultivation nor sparring will get you very far," Po Tian said gravely. "You have to control your emotions. Everyone is looking to you,