Chapter 2169 - 2162: I’m Going to Take the Top-level Certification Exam

After entering the Holy Soul Alliance, Zhang Menglong headed straight for the Blood Pond.

Around the Blood Pond, there are a total of seven small towns, six of which are managed by each of the six countries individually, while the seventh town is jointly managed by the six countries.

Zhang Menglong found a hotel to stay in the No.1 town, which is managed by the Ancient Zhen Kingdom within the Holy Soul Alliance, and learned the differences between the seven towns.

Geological surveys have shown that the bottom of the Blood Pond is not flat, but becomes deeper from the edges toward the center.

In the edge regions, the depth is about 200,000 to 300,000 meters, but in the central region, the depth detected by geological remote sensing even reaches 500,000 meters!

So far, no one has ever reached the bottom of the central region, not even the most powerful Transcenders of the Holy Soul Alliance, who have only managed to dive to a depth of around 450,000 meters.

In the Blood Pond, the deeper one dives, the higher the probability of obtaining Supreme Crystals, and the purity of these crystals increases too! Because of these special geographical features, the central region of the Blood Pond is naturally the place where Supreme Crystals can achieve the highest and best quality.

No country can monopolize the No.7 area, as the other kingdoms won’t stand by idly, and after some negotiations, they decided to jointly manage the No.7 area, with all profits shared among the six kingdoms.

Zhang Menglong also learned that the Supreme Crystals here are different from those he obtained on the battlefield!

The Supreme Crystals from the battlefield have high purity, with almost no impurities, but it’s different in the Blood Pond.

Sometimes when you find a Supreme Crystal the size of a human head, after purification it might end up being no larger than a fingernail.

Additionally, Supreme Crystals obtained from great depths, even under high pressure, sometimes turn out better than those from the battlefield.

Ordinary Supreme Crystals appear transparent, but at depths beyond 300,000 meters, there sometimes appear blue-tinted Supreme Crystals, with the deeper the depth, the deeper the blue, affecting the price according to color intensity.

Even the most ordinary Supreme Crystals are outrageously priced, such as a Supreme Crystal obtained by the Qinglan Kingdom, which cost nearly one-tenth of its treasury assets!

Across the Continent, aside from each country’s currency, there’s a kind of common currency known as Supreme Coins, which are very different from those used on the battlefield.

The purchasing power of Supreme Coins is strong, and only those high-level kingdoms qualify to issue them.

Countries like the Mansha Kingdom may not even be able to exchange for 10,000 Supreme Coins for their entire nation.

And the total assets of the Qinglan Kingdom are only a mere few million Supreme Coins.

However, even lower-grade Supreme Crystals here can fetch prices of tens of thousands of Supreme Coins, and those large and high-quality Supreme Crystals command astronomical prices.

Nevertheless, Supreme Crystals are not everywhere, even in the Blood Pond; practically all instruments fail, so searching for Supreme Crystals has to be done manually!

Ordinary Level Six Transcenders can stay in the Blood Pond for roughly half an hour, but the actual time for diving to the bottom is estimated to be just about five minutes.

Typically, these five minutes yield no results.

After surfacing, they generally need to rest for an hour before starting the next exploration.

On average, getting one Supreme Crystal a day is already quite good for an Explorer, but it’s common for some unlucky ones to go days without finding anything.

Once they collect Supreme Crystals, they can choose to pay a tax and keep them, or opt to sell them to individuals or merchants here.

However, selling to the official entity of the Holy Soul Alliance exempts them from taxes, though the prices might be slightly lowered; overall, the prices for these Supreme Crystals are relatively stable.

After some inquiries, Zhang Menglong learned about the assessment process for Explorers, with an opportunity to register for an examination in each town once a month; after obtaining certification, they can explore in any town without restrictions.

The test items are quite simple; as long as they can endure in an artificially created high-pressure environment for more than 10 minutes with all vital signs normal, they’ve passed the test.

The examination process is relatively safe, with pressure increasing at a reasonable rate, and physiological monitoring devices constantly observing the candidate’s vital signs; if any issues arise, the examination is immediately terminated.

The next examination is five days away, and Zhang Menglong didn’t hesitate to complete registration, although it’s truly expensive - participating costs 10 Supreme Coins as a registration fee, which is non-refundable for test failure; you pay again for the second exam, allowing the Holy Soul Alliance to profit handsomely from exam fees alone.

In this town, besides hotels, businesses selling Supreme Crystals are thriving, but these merchants aren’t officially recognized, though they have some connections to support their vast funding.

Generally, they sign long-term contracts with many Explorers, who sell their finds directly to these merchants.

Of course, to compete, official purchase prices might be slightly lower, but offer Explorers many perks, such as access to certain areas exclusive to officially contracted Explorers, where the appearance probability for Supreme Crystals is often much higher than in surrounding areas, something other merchants can’t offer.

Zhang Menglong stayed in the town for a few days, and each time he approached areas near the Blood Pond, he felt something reactive, as if something was beckoning him toward the Blood Pond.

"Indeed!" Zhang Menglong rejoiced, his intuition wasn’t wrong; there might be something in the Blood Pond that could help him elevate his Soul grade!

Five days quickly passed, and Zhang Menglong headed to the assembly location according to the registration info, where, besides him, about forty or fifty people seemed to be participating in the examination.

Only, upon arriving, Zhang Menglong sensed many people casting odd glances his way.

"Geez, is this young man really here for the examination? Is this for real?"

"A First Grade Transcender? This level can barely dive 1,000 meters, are you nuts, how could he possibly pass the examination?"

"Hahaha, really sees all kinds of people, is he mad for money or what?"

Zhang Menglong wasn’t surprised by the surrounding whispers.

The weakest here are fifth-order Transcenders, totaling about forty or fifty people, making his realm standout in the crowd.

"Bro, are you really here for the Explorer license examination?" someone asked, tapping Zhang Menglong from behind.

This person appeared quite young, looking like a twenty-something, though likely older than he seemed; he seemed curious rather than sarcastic towards Zhang Menglong.

"Yes," Zhang Menglong nodded.

"Which level of Explorer are you aiming for?"

"Hmm..." Zhang Menglong hesitated briefly, "I’ll go straight for the Top-level!"