So much time had passed, but the Lord of the Universe had made no further probes. Even the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers had stopped advancing and retreated a great distance. Naturally, many believed the Lord of the Universe had run out of tricks—or that the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers simply couldn't master the techniques he had taught them.
As time went on, more and more people came to believe this. They even had an explanation for why the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers hadn't withdrawn entirely: the Lord of the Universe feared Chi Xue and the others would press closer to the Demon God Forbidden Ground, so he had ordered the soldiers to hold them back.
Of course, many still believed the Lord of the Universe must have other ways to test them. The only reason he hadn't acted again for so long, they thought, was that the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers needed time to learn those techniques. The more powerful the secret art, the longer it took to master. And because the soldiers had incomplete intelligence, they learned everything more slowly than cultivators—even with their high cultivation realms.
"We'll soon find out whether the Lord of the Universe has run out of tricks. If he really has some new method, he'll naturally have the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers use it." Ling Tian's avatar glanced around as he spoke. "In any case, we don't need to rush. When soldiers come, we'll meet them; when water comes, we'll dam it. For now, we just need to wait until the five thousand years are up. Then, whether or not the Lord of the Universe attacks my true self, we must reach the Demon God Forbidden Ground and launch an attack on him."
"Right, exactly." Everyone nodded. Shi Lin then thought of another problem: