Before the emergence of Martial Artists, the think tank of the great Xia had made calculations. According to the duration of previous disasters and the current reserves of food in most of the Xia's Refuge Centers, there would be enough to sustain the existing survivors until the end of the scorching heat.
However, the think tank could not have foreseen that as the concentration of Spirit Energy in the air kept rising, the threshold to become a Martial Artist would lower, leading to a drastic increase in their numbers.
While the rise in Spirit Energy concentration benefited not only humans but also the plant and animal cultivation in the underground Refuge Centers, it could not make up for the increasing food demand of the survivors.