This is an infinitely wide grotto, with strong lighting fixtures installed everywhere, illuminating the world in front of you brilliantly.
Shen Qian was standing on a stone platform engraved with teleportation formations. Around him, there were countless similar stone platforms, extending to the end of his field of vision.
In front of the stone platform, there is another arch bridge that extends into the depths of the grotto.
In the depths of the grotto, countless buildings and pavilions can be vaguely seen, and there are streaks of colorful mist visible to the naked eye lingering in the air, rendering the area where the buildings are located like a dream.
All around, as the space fluctuated from time to time, figures appeared on the stone platform. Then they walked forward, chatting and laughing with each other, passing the arch bridge and entering the vast world of grottoes.
There are also people who come in a hurry, arrive at different stone platforms and then disappear into this world.
Shen Qian glanced at the mountain and sea badge in his hand and couldn't help but be surprised.
This badge is actually a teleportation array sub-talisman.
In other words, Shen Qian did not transfer his consciousness, but his body directly came to this world called "the center of the earth".
While he was dazed, another strong spatial fluctuation flashed past him, and then Zheng Lei and Dao Jiu appeared next to him one after another.
"What the hell is this place?"
Seeing the two people appearing, Shen Qian couldn't help but asked curiously.
"Since this space is called the center of the earth, Major Shen might as well guess where it is?"
Zheng Lei smiled.
"The center of the earth..."
Shen Qian's heart moved, as if he thought of something. His mental power began to extend upwards, and soon penetrated the dome of the grotto, and then continued upwards.
Ten meters, one hundred meters, one thousand meters...
With Shen Qian's current mental power, he could fully spread it to a distance of several thousand meters, but as far as he could see, it was all thick earth, rocks, and various metal elements, as if there was no end in sight.
Soon, Shen Qian, who had recovered his mental power, said in surprise: "Is this the core of the earth?"
Seeing Zheng Lei nodding, Shen Qian was even more shocked.
He never thought that this "center of the earth" was actually the center of the earth in the physical sense.
"Why is it different from what is written in the textbook?" Shen Qian touched his nose, somewhat speechless.
According to physics books, the center of the earth should be in a completely solid state. Of course, there are some posts with different opinions, but no one has ever mentioned that there is such a strange space in the deepest part of the earth.
"In the center of the earth, only mountains and seas can enter. Due to the principle of confidentiality, ordinary warriors naturally don't know about such a place." Zheng Lei said with a smile.
Shen Qian nodded and quickly calmed down.
He's used to it too.
It was his own fault, as his rise in martial arts was too fast. Ordinary warriors would take it step by step, and could slowly adapt to the changes in the worldview brought about by class jumps.
Shen Qian... really didn't have the time to slowly accept this.
Who would have thought that he was not even a beginner martial artist more than half a year ago.
But now, he has gone through Changhe, which 99% of people have never heard of, and he really shouldn't make such a fuss anymore.
"Why does a place like this exist?"
Shen Qian asked the core question.
"We can talk while walking. Why don't I take Major Shen in for a look first?"
Zheng Lei stretched out his hand and said.
Zheng Lei immediately led the way, and the three of them passed the arch bridge together and headed towards the depths of the grotto.
After passing the arch bridge that stretched for miles, the vague buildings in the field of vision began to slowly become clearer.
When he reached the end of the arch bridge and stood in mid-air, Shen Qian's vision was shocked again.
What appeared in front of us was a vast and endless city.
There are skyscrapers up to 100 meters high, ancient pavilions, wide streets up to 100 meters wide, green mountain peaks, blue lakes...
The most outrageous thing is that Shen Qian clearly saw that somewhere thousands of meters away, there was a pyramid that was clearly unique to Egypt.
The buildings and scenery with completely different styles were blended together in a strange style, forming the huge city that Chen Qian saw in his field of vision at this moment.
The prosperity of this city even surpasses that of the Northern Capital and the Magic Capital.
People were coming and going in a hurry on the street, and there were also figures walking in the air and passing by.
But what shocked Shen Qian the most was that most of the figures walking through it were as deep as the sea.
The strong man of mountains and seas!
More than 80% of the people who came into view were genuine mountain and sea powerhouses.
How come there are so many powerful people from mountains and seas, and why are there so many powerful people from mountains and seas?
To give an inappropriate example, Jingcheng is ranked among the top three in terms of town size in the first province in the southwest. Even with the special location of the Babel Tower, there will not be more than ten mountain and sea warriors in the city.
For example, there are only three or five city lords in Xicheng and Tongcheng.
But at this moment, there were at least thousands of people on the mountains and seas that Shen Qian could see.
There is no need for mental perception, because there are already more than a thousand people walking through the air in mid-air.
But Shen Qian was just standing on the edge of the city at the moment, which meant that what he saw was actually just the tip of the iceberg.
If the whole city was like this, how many mountain and sea warriors would there be?
"President Zheng..."
"When Major Shen activated the badge, he should have heard a number. It was actually a sequence."
It seems that Shen Qian's doubts have been guessed, or maybe everyone who sets foot on the mountains and seas here for the first time will have such a shock, so Zheng Lei already said it as soon as Shen Qian opened his mouth.
serial number?
Shen Qian's body trembled, and then he remembered the cold female voice that sounded in his ears when he activated the badge.
"No. 9556137 Mountain and Sea Warrior..."
If this is the sequential arrangement, it means that Shen Qian is the 9556137th mountain and sea warrior to enter the center of the earth.
Close to 10 million!
Damn it.
Shen Qian had an incredible expression on his face.
"But why..."
Although there are no official statistics, Shen Qian's knowledge has always been that the total number of mountain and sea warriors in China is no more than one hundred thousand.
But obviously, there is a huge deviation between this number and the objective facts.
"Major Shen, are you trying to say that there can't be so many mountain and sea warriors?" Zheng Lei said with a smile.
Seeing Shen Qian nod, Zheng Lei continued, "Then let me ask Major Shen a question. How many students are enrolled in Huaxia Martial Arts University every year?"
Shen Qian was startled, and then recalled: "This year's number is probably more than 600,000, but this year is special, it is the year of enrollment expansion. In previous years, it was usually between 300,000 and 400,000."
"From what Major Shen has seen, after being tempered by martial arts colleges, how many of the 400,000 martial arts graduates every year can reach the realm of high martial arts practitioners?"
Zheng Lei asked again.
Shen Qian pondered for a moment before speaking: "Everyone's qualifications are different, but generally speaking, the qualifications of students who can pass the martial arts college entrance examination are above the standard. If you count not only graduation, but also the time it takes to enter the society. , in the end at least 70% of them will reach the level of a high martial artist."
Shen Qian consciously said that the probability was quite fair.
After all, the main group in this society is not just young people. There are indeed many people who can still become high-level warriors through long-term training after entering the society.
In the final analysis, the level of a high-level warrior is still just the evolution of the body, and it is entirely possible to rely on time and resources to make up for the shortcomings of talent.
"Let's take it a little lower and calculate it as 60%. In other words, of the 400,000 martial arts graduates every year, more than 200,000 will eventually reach the realm of high martial arts masters."
Zheng Lei smiled and said, "Of the 200,000 high-level warriors every year, how many can step into the mountains and seas?"
"this……"
Shen Qian thought for a while and said, "Maybe it's one of a kind?"
Everyone in the world knows that it is difficult to break through mountains and seas. Even Shen Qian cannot say clearly on this issue because there are too many factors involved and everyone's circumstances are different. This number is naturally difficult to calculate.
As if he understood Shen Qian's dilemma, Zheng Lei took the lead and said, "As for the probability of breaking through the mountains and seas, our Martial Arts Association has an accurate figure... 1.3%."
"According to the statistics of the past two hundred years, on average, about one out of every one hundred high-level warriors can successfully break through the mountain and sea warriors."
Shen Qian listened carefully but did not refute.
This kind of data must be top secret, but this is what the Martial Arts Association does, and the numbers they have are absolutely accurate.
"If we take it a little lower, it would be considered one percent. That means that among the 200,000 martial arts graduates every year, no matter how long it takes to break through, there will eventually be almost 2,000 people who enter the mountains and seas."
Zheng Lei sighed, "When this number accumulates for two hundred years, how many warriors will there be in the mountains and seas?"
"You know, since the spiritual energy was revived, the human race has actually not experienced any major disasters. Even with the mutation more than a hundred years ago, the main ones were the princes, and there was not much damage at the mountain and sea levels. "
"And what I just talked about was only data within the scope of China, and this inner earth world is facing mountain and sea warriors from all over the world!"
When Shen Qian heard this, he suddenly understood.
Two thousand a year, two hundred thousand in a hundred years...
There is no standard statistics on the average lifespan of mountain and sea warriors, but it is definitely easy to live for hundreds of years.
And he knew that the numbers Zheng Lei mentioned were only conservative estimates, because in reality, there were many examples of social warriors who had not received a martial arts college education breaking through mountains and seas.
For example, Babel's own school, since it is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, is actually included in the category of "social warriors."
There are so many countries in the world. Although China is extremely powerful, the total number is close to 10 million, which is not much at all.
"So this city in the center of the earth is actually a world dedicated to mountains and seas?" Shen Qian asked.
"That's understandable."
Zheng Lei smiled, "Isn't it possible that Major Shen hasn't felt any difference here?"
"different?"
Shen Qian was stunned for a moment, then realized something.
Reiki!
Incomparably rich spiritual energy.
If the biggest difference between this inner-earth city and the towns on the surface is that the air has almost condensed into a substantial aura of heaven and earth, which is the colorful mist that Shen Qian saw vaguely on the stone platform just now.
It's just that he was in it at this time, and Shen Qian himself had been to too many places with strong spiritual energy. He was not sensitive to this, so he didn't notice it immediately.
Shen Qian glanced at Dao Jiu next to him and couldn't help crying or laughing.
No wonder this guy didn't speak. At this moment, Shen Qian glanced at him and realized that he had been closing his eyes tightly, with a look of greed on his face. Judging from his slightly trembling body, it was obvious that Dao Jiu had been there. Crazy absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
"Am I saying that you don't want to save even this small amount of time for cultivation?"
Shen Qian was somewhat confused.
Dao Jiu opened his eyes when he heard this, scratched his head and said with a smile, "This place is too expensive. This is my third time coming in. This time I have benefited from Mr. Shen, so of course I can't waste it."
"Expensive?" Shen Qian was startled.
"Before I have time to tell Major Shen, although the center of the earth is only open to warriors above the mountains and seas, entry here is not free."
Zheng Lei explained, "The cost of staying here for a day is one hundred thousand Chinese coins or the equivalent world currency."
"One hundred thousand a day?"
Shen Qian was shocked.
He had never heard of any place where it cost money just to stay.
But as soon as he sensed the rich aura in the air, Shen Qian felt relieved again.
Although the richness of the spiritual energy here is far less than that of the Nine Kings Secret Realm, it is far better than any Chinese town that Shen has been to before. One day of cultivation here is probably equivalent to ten days of cultivation on the surface.
Although I don't know where the spiritual energy comes from, if it doesn't cost anything, I'm afraid no one will be willing to leave this place.
Zheng Lei didn't need to explain. Shen Qian just thought about it deeply and seemed to understand the meaning of this rule.
If you have to wait for death, as a mountain and sea warrior, you can enjoy a monthly allowance of 100,000, but it is only enough to live in a town on the surface.
If you want to enter the center of the earth, even mountain and sea warriors have to find ways to make money.
For mountain and sea warriors, apart from the criminal law, the most profitable methods are in restricted areas and overseas.
This is not only a reasonable allocation of resources, but also a symbol that even mountains and seas cannot be obtained without hard work. It is also an invisible spur.
No wonder he saw that the powerful people in this city were all in a hurry. Apparently "time" has become a precious term here.
"After becoming Shanhai, you can get ten days of residence in the center of the earth for free. Of course, due to the strong request of Major Shen's entourage, I have just allocated one day to him. In addition to Major Shen's own day being deducted, you still have the remaining eight days."
Zheng Lei glanced at Dao Jiu and said with a smile, "Of course, if Major Shen doesn't agree, I can send Major Shen's entourage out now."
Glancing at Dao Jiu who looked a bit embarrassed, Shen Qian waved his hand and smiled, "I'd better give him the remaining eight days I have."
A mere one hundred thousand a day was just a drop in Shen Qian's net worth, so naturally he wouldn't care.
The three of them fell into the street, and as they went deep into the city, Shen Qian asked curiously, "I think there are many ordinary people in this inner city, so how did they get in?"
