The Continent's Population and Number of Soul Masters

"Second Uncle, I have a question." Chen Xiaojun looked at Chen Cong and said seriously.

"What is it?" Chen Cong looked at Chen Xiaojun, curiosity stirring in his heart.

"This time, the official and military Soul Masters, plus the conscripted Soul Masters, totaled around thirty to forty thousand," Chen Xiaojun said. "What I want to ask is, exactly how many Soul Masters are there on the continent?"

Chen Xiaojun had always been curious about this question. He had always felt that the original Douluo 1 novel was only a miniature reflection of this world.

In the original work, the number of Soul Masters on Douluo Continent was only around a hundred thousand, but the situation here was completely different.

As one of the top ten cities on the continent, Vast Sea City alone had thirty to forty thousand Soul Masters. Yet across the entire continent, there were over a hundred main cities alone, not to mention the countless medium and small cities. In that case, how should the total number of Soul Masters on the continent even be calculated?

"Uh." Chen Cong had not expected Chen Xiaojun to ask this question, but this was a good chance for him to learn a bit about current affairs.

"The number of Soul Masters comes from the total population of the continent, and the population is related to the continent's area and the amount of food," Chen Cong began explaining.

"I understand that." Chen Xiaojun nodded. It was a perfectly normal proportional relationship.

"Then do you know how large Douluo Continent is?" Chen Cong asked again.

"I don't." Chen Xiaojun shook his head. He had once had a few guesses, but he had no definite answer, so he simply said he did not know.

"According to data Spring and Autumn Pavilion released before, after their measurements and calculations, not counting the islands overseas, Douluo Continent is roughly fifty-five million square kilometers," Chen Cong said.

Spring and Autumn Pavilion—Chen Xiaojun knew of it. It was an authoritative organization that studied fields such as astronomy, geography, and history. Among the neutral organizations on the continent, its status was second only to the three great powers, and it enjoyed a distinguished reputation.

Since the measurement data had come from them, it should have been quite accurate.

Hearing that number, Chen Xiaojun sighed inwardly. As expected! Supposedly, the original author mentioned that Douluo Continent was written with Eurasia as a reference, and it really is about the same size as Eurasia.

"With such a vast area, the Plant Guild's large-scale promotion of high-yield crops like potatoes, corn, and tomatoes a thousand years ago led to a population explosion, raising the population severalfold," Chen Cong explained in detail, his tone carrying a sense of reflection on history.

Chen Xiaojun listened to Chen Cong's explanation and could not help feeling shaken.

He had never thought before that Douluo Continent's population would be so large, and that all of it had actually been because of an agricultural reform a thousand years ago.

"More than twenty years ago, the population statistics released by Spring and Autumn Pavilion put it at over 1.5 billion—about one-fifth of Blue Star's Eurasian continent," Chen Cong continued, a thoughtful glint flashing in his eyes. "Although this number is enormous, considering Douluo Continent's area and abundance of resources, it is actually reasonable."

Chen Xiaojun nodded, agreeing with Chen Cong's view. He had always believed that Douluo Continent's population should not be that large, but now it seemed that his thinking had been completely wrong.

"And the proportion of Soul Masters in the population is about one in a thousand, which means roughly over one and a half million," Chen Cong went on.

"That many?" Chen Xiaojun could not help feeling surprised. He had always thought Soul Master was a rare profession, but now it seemed there were actually so many of them.

"What else would you expect? Without that many, how could we withstand calamities?" Chen Cong's tone became somewhat solemn.

He knew that although there were many Soul Masters, when facing certain powerful enemies, this number still seemed somewhat insignificant.

Chen Cong paused, then continued, "Let's sort it out. A dozen or so years ago, the low-level civilian Soul Masters registered by Spirit Hall and receiving subsidies numbered two hundred and sixty thousand. There hasn't been much change over the years, so it should still be about that number. Spirit Hall itself also has a little over two hundred thousand Soul Masters. Add the two together, and that's nearly five hundred thousand Soul Masters, accounting for almost thirty percent."

"Then the Two Great Empires each have no fewer Soul Masters than Spirit Hall, which makes another four hundred thousand. In addition, the major neutral organizations, Soul Hunters, mercenaries, and hundreds of Industry Guilds, chambers of commerce, freight firms, auction houses, and other commercial forces should have around three hundred thousand. Academies, clans, and sects of all sizes also have three hundred thousand, plus some scattered here and there," Chen Cong continued.

Chen Xiaojun listened to Chen Cong's explanation and could not help feeling a wave of helplessness.

He had always thought of himself as a hardworking and talented Soul Master, but placed among a million Soul Masters, he really felt as if he were being swallowed up.

His strength simply amounted to nothing among so many Soul Masters.

"In addition, there are quite a few Soul Masters mingling in the gray underworld!" Chen Cong's tone became somewhat grave. "Although these gray-underworld Soul Masters are not accepted by the righteous path, their strength cannot be underestimated. If we cannot bring them under management, then they may become our enemies."

"Lastly, there are the Evil Soul Masters hidden in the shadows, the public enemies of the continent. Their numbers are unclear, but twenty to thirty thousand is the minimum. When there are many of them, they exceed fifty thousand—and that is fifty thousand with relatively strong abilities."

The strength of Evil Soul Masters was indeed extremely formidable. No wonder the major forces normally hunted and killed Evil Soul Masters. Otherwise, once calamity erupted, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Do you know, Xiaojun?" Chen Cong said slowly, his voice carrying a sense of vicissitude. "The average lifespan on our Douluo Continent is close to seventy years. That is a fairly good number. Averaged across more than a billion people, every year, a full twenty million-plus people awaken their martial souls. Among them, around twenty thousand truly possess Soul Power and step onto the path of the Soul Master."

Chen Xiaojun listened to Chen Cong's explanation and could not help feeling shaken. He had never thought that so many people would awaken their martial souls and become Soul Masters every year. This number was far larger than he had imagined.

"However, the path of a Soul Master is not smooth sailing," Chen Cong continued, his tone becoming a little heavy. "Every year, because of various battles, accidents, mishaps, and natural death from old age, we lose at least over ten thousand Soul Masters. Although this number sounds cruel, it is an unavoidable reality."

Chen Xiaojun listened silently. The world of Soul Masters was filled with danger and challenges, and any Soul Master might lose their life in the next moment.

"Still, overall, the number of Soul Masters is slowly increasing," Chen Cong said, his tone easing slightly. "Although there are losses every year, the number of newly joined Soul Masters can always slightly exceed the number lost. In this way, over the long river of history, the total number of Soul Masters has still gradually increased."

Chen Xiaojun nodded, indicating that he understood.

"But large-scale wars greatly consume the number of Soul Masters," Chen Cong reminded him again. "Just like this small Beast Tide in Vast Sea City. Although its scale was not large, it still cost us quite a few Soul Masters. That is even more true of true calamities—every calamity causes us to lose large numbers of Soul Masters."

Chen Xiaojun listened to Chen Cong's explanation and was not surprised. The human world was full of uncertainty.

Even in his previous life, with the terrifying balance of nuclear peace, countless people still died in war each year, human lives as cheap as grass.

"However, if you extend the timeframe and look at it in hundred-year periods, it can generally still maintain balance," Chen Cong concluded at last. "Although there are losses and consumption, new Soul Masters are always able to continuously emerge and fill that gap. That is where Douluo Continent's vitality lies."