Inside a tea restaurant called "Da Dao Tian" in the city at the center of the earth.
Despite being called a tea restaurant, the decor here is exceptionally elegant. Even the gemstones adorning the walls are high-grade spirit stones, and there is a sign at the entrance that reads, "Only serving residents of the subterranean who have resided here for more than twenty years."
In other words, the martial artists who can enter and leave this place are at least long-established veterans of the Mountain and Sea Sect.
Over time, this tea restaurant gradually developed into a high-end social venue for people from the mountains and seas, becoming an offline platform for many top mountain and sea experts to exchange information. The famous underground city "Blacklist" originated from here.
It is said that one or more nobles are behind this tea restaurant, but the truth of the rumors is hard to verify.
Since the start of the all-out war of the invasion of all races, this place has become much quieter. However, more than a month later, the tea restaurant has become lively again, which is quite rare.
What is the current situation?
The waiter at the door was just a service worker who was specially allowed to enter the underground city and did not know the situation outside. Seeing many familiar faces reappear, he couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"It's temporarily stabilized, with most of the elite experts from all races retreating behind the 'gate,' but the situation in the forbidden zone is still far from optimistic..."
A young-looking expert from the Mountain and Sea Realm answered casually.
"Old Zou, you really know how to talk, you say? Not optimistic?" Another sneer rang out from inside the restaurant. "In the Forbidden Zone, is there any territory left for our human race? Let alone the Forbidden Zone, within China alone, more than sixty cities have been completely destroyed. You call that 'not optimistic'?"
"The restricted area was originally established to create a buffer zone between the restricted area and the 'Gate'. Apart from the military outposts and some so-called secret realms, there were no important facilities within the restricted area. Even the headquarters of the major war zones were temporary. What's the big deal about giving them up?"
The young man, known as Zou Laosi, retorted, "As long as the true vitality of our human race remains intact, we will be able to reclaim the forbidden zone sooner or later!"
"Heh, still unscathed?" Another deep voice sounded from the window. "Were those powerful figures who died or were injured just cannon fodder? Putting aside how many top-tier Mountain and Sea Realm experts perished, have you all forgotten that it wasn't just Mountain and Sea Realm experts who fell?"
Upon hearing this, the entire tea restaurant fell silent.
Some remained silent in contemplation, while others sighed softly.
Of course, it wasn't just mountains and seas that died...
In the past month alone, according to the Martial Arts Department's announcement, four kings and nobles have fallen.
Among them are Qin Zhaohou, the current head of the Qin Guangwang family; Tian Ninggong, a top-tier marquis who has been famous for over two hundred years and has been in charge of the Martial Arts Department since the resurgence of spiritual energy; Ling Tianhou, whose name is renowned among the Mountain and Sea group and who was once hailed as the number one genius; and the last person, who is also a legend among marquises.
That was the Marquis of Jingcheng, who once rivaled the Duke of Yanshan and ruled the north and south.
When these four announcements were first released, they shocked the entire nation of China.
Any one of these four individuals would be a pinnacle figure revered by countless martial artists, yet they have all fallen one after another.
When it comes to the blow to morale, no amount of deaths from mountains and seas can compare to this.
The war over the past month has been fraught with ups and downs, and the morale of the troops has often wavered, which is closely related to the news of the deaths of these four kings and nobles.
Fortunately, in the last half month, Marquis Wuding, together with more than a dozen kings and marquises, launched a decapitation operation. In a surprise attack, nearly twenty kings and marquises of various races were killed, which stopped the momentum of the invasion of various races. The leaders of many alien races were so shocked that they retreated behind the "gate" that the war situation gradually stabilized.
There are still large-scale battlefields within the restricted area, but most of the existing cities have been defended. As for the coast, it has been completely cleared. Except for the Shanghai defense zone, which is still intact, all other places have been abandoned.
"Speaking of this matter, don't you find something strange about it?"
Just as everyone was immersed in a somber atmosphere, a discordant voice suddenly rang out.
"What do you mean?" someone asked curiously.
"The Martial Arts Department's announcement is far too vague!" the man sneered. "Although you are not kings or marquises, you all have some understanding of those at that level. Let alone top-tier kings and marquises, even hunting down ordinary ones is no easy task. Marquis Wuding personally took action, meticulously planned, and even King Zhouyi personally helped cover it up. In just over half a month, they only managed to kill less than twenty alien kings and marquises. As far as I know, the vast majority of them were only earl-level kings and marquises..."
"And the four top-tier kings and marquises who died in my human race!"
"Putting others aside, the Marquis of Jingcheng is an unparalleled figure. I once heard my teacher say that he was the closest to a Martial King. How could such a powerful person just fall like that, without even a cause and effect?"
Everyone was taken aback by what he said.
In fact, the martial arts club's crude announcement was indeed problematic, but few people would think about it carefully. Now that this person has exposed it, everyone has noticed the abnormality.
"What's your name, brother? You look unfamiliar... Judging from your tone, you seem to know something?"
Many people were intrigued, and some martial artists from the Mountain and Sea Realm even sat down next to the man.
As everyone's gazes converged, they were able to see his appearance clearly: a middle-aged man with a stubble beard, wearing a tattered scholar's robe. If he hadn't already been sitting in the "Great Dao Heaven" tea restaurant, they would have found it hard to believe that he was actually a top expert in the mountains and seas.
"The Marquis of Jingcheng... actually died at the hands of a human king or marquis!"
Seeing everyone looking at him, the middle-aged man tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass, then suddenly shouted loudly.
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