7: Chapter 7 The Second Hextech

After seeing off Zhang Zishan and Chen Rong, Zhang Chao slung an arm around Fang Chuan's neck, and the two walked side by side on the road back to school.

The summer night breeze dispersed the heat of the day, and the streetlights stretched their shadows, making them flicker and shift in length.

"Chuanzi, my parents are just like that, don't take it to heart." Zhang Chao spoke gloomily, his tone carrying a hint of apology, "They didn't mean anything else, they just... just feel like they owe you."

Fang Chuan chuckled upon hearing this and nudged him with his elbow: "What are you thinking? I know exactly how Godfather and Godmother treat me. It's you I'm worried about; with an S-rank rating, the school must have given you plenty of resources, so don't waste them."

"Of course!" As soon as the Divine Kingdom was mentioned, Zhang Chao regained his spirit, "The old men at school called me over, making promises and giving resources; they practically tried to adopt me as their grandson on the spot. But Chuanzi, do you really not want those two Divine Kingdom buildings? The [Altar of Abundance] would be a huge help for your early development."

Fang Chuan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the dim yellow streetlights ahead, his eyes calm and firm: "Chaozi, listen to me. We are brothers, but the path of the Divine Kingdom must be walked by oneself. What Godfather gives is out of kindness, but I cannot rely on that kindness forever. The F-rank rating is a fact; if I can't make it on my own, no amount of resources will fill the bottomless pit."

He paused, then changed the subject, a mysterious smile appearing on his face: "Besides, who says an F-rank definitely has no way out? Maybe I can forge a path that no one has ever walked before."

Zhang Chao was taken aback as he looked at the confident smile on Fang Chuan's face.

In his impression, Fang Chuan had always been a gentle and introverted top student, rarely revealing such sharp, unbridled confidence. Today, he seemed a bit different.

"Alright! That's my brother!" Zhang Chao was infected by his mood and slapped him hard on the back, "That's the spirit! If you ever really become some big shot, don't forget to help your brother out!"

"Get lost." Fang Chuan laughed and cursed.

The two bantered all the way and soon arrived downstairs at the dormitory. Before they parted, Zhang Chao still urged him with some concern: "Chuanzi, if anything happens, don't carry it alone; give me a call."

"I know, just hurry back and cuddle your S-rank Divine Kingdom."

Watching Zhang Chao's back disappear around the corner, the smile on Fang Chuan's face slowly faded. He lowered his head and opened his palm, where the crack-filled "fortune star emblem" lay quietly.

The skin on his fingertips could clearly feel the cold, rough texture of the emblem's surface, as well as the tiny gullies eroded by the passage of time.

Only at this moment did his heart dare to beat violently and uncontrollably.

Fortune.

The most love-hate trait in Golden Spatula. If it works, it's a massive profit; if it fails, it's a total loss.

But in this real Divine Kingdom world, although its effect inherited part of the Golden Spatula's mechanics, the specific effects were unknown.

This item, which even peak demigods regarded as trash, was, in his hands, countless times more precious than those two Divine Kingdom buildings worth 100,000 faith points combined.

Fang Chuan took a deep breath, carefully placed the emblem into his pocket, and walked quickly back to his single apartment allocated by the state.

The room was not large, with simple furnishings: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, fifty square meters, and that was it.

Fang Chuan locked the door and pulled the curtains shut; the entire room instantly plunged into darkness and silence.

He didn't turn on the light, instead sitting cross-legged on the bed, unable to wait to sink his consciousness into the Divine Kingdom.

...

Divine Kingdom.

The moment his consciousness descended, Fang Chuan noticed the difference.

The air was no longer just pure spiritual energy; it had gained a hint of... human warmth.

Around the previously empty altar, a rudimentary village had now taken shape. Dozens of simple shacks built from mud, wood, and stones were crookedly arranged in a circle around the altar.

The goblins were no longer naked; they wore simple loincloths made from rough animal hides and leaves.

By the river, several female goblins were scraping animal hides with stone tools, while others were washing berries. More goblins were in the Glimmer Forest, chopping down trees one by one with stone axes.

Everything appeared orderly.

Fang Chuan's gaze finally landed in the center of the village, in front of the largest shack.

The Goblin Emperor Fara was standing there like a sculpture. Its size was simply too massive; even just standing there, it gave off a strong sense of oppression. The three-meter-tall shack looked like a toy in front of it.

And beside it, the three-star Warlord Oge was holding a piece of animal hide, on which some simple symbols were drawn with charcoal, as if it were reporting something.

Seeing this scene, Fang Chuan understood.

About three hours had passed in the real world, which converted to forty-five days in the Divine Kingdom time.

A month or so was enough for a race with a wise leader and sufficient food to undergo earth-shaking changes.

"My God."

Seemingly sensing the descent of Fang Chuan's will, Fara's massive body crashed down onto one knee, and its voice resonated directly in Fang Chuan's mind through the laws of the Divine Kingdom.

"Fara reports to you. Forty-five days have passed since you last bestowed a miracle. Our tribe has added 312 new members, with zero deaths. The current food supply can support the entire tribe for 120 days. The tribesmen have initially mastered the methods of tool making and house building."

Fara's report was concise and efficient.

312...

Fang Chuan's eyelids twitched. This reproduction speed was even fiercer than Liu Ruyan's B+ rank "Extraordinary Fertility" talent.

He glanced at the number of believers on his Divine Kingdom panel, which had soared from over three hundred to seven hundred.

"Well done." Fang Chuan did not hesitate to give his praise.

Receiving affirmation from its deity, Fara lowered its massive head even further.

Fang Chuan did not interfere too much with Fara's management; a five-star talent saint with an intelligence as high as 19,000, much higher than he, the deity himself, possessed—letting professionals handle professional matters was the wisest choice.

His consciousness turned to the system panel.

[Current Faith Value: 112,768.75]

This was the number before he left the Divine Kingdom. And in these forty-five days, his believers had generated another wave of new faith.

Among them, Fara provided 200 points per day, Warlord Oge 10 points per day, and the remaining ordinary goblins and Goblin Warriors, all in all, had an average daily faith output exceeding three hundred points.

Forty-five days meant 13,500 faith points!

Adding the 98,500 points left from before, his faith value had broken through the 110,000 mark.

Looking at this string of numbers, Fang Chuan felt refreshed. The speed of money making money was faster than robbing.

"There are still 2 hours until 12 o'clock; I wonder when this Hextech refreshes."

After quickly washing up, Fang Chuan started anxiously watching the clock tick away minute by minute.

Finally, after the hour hand and second hand met at 12 o'clock, that mechanical voice rang out in Fang Chuan's mind again!

[A new day has begun; you may make your daily Hextech enhancement selection.]

[Please select your enhancement direction!]

It's here!

Fang Chuan perked up. Compared to the compound interest of faith points, this daily Hextech selection was his foundation for survival.

In his consciousness, three crystals emitting different lusters slowly emerged.

One was a soft white light representing the Silver rank, and the other two were brilliant golden lights representing the Gold rank.

Apparently, the initial benefit of a guaranteed Prismatic rank had ended.

Fang Chuan probed his consciousness into them, and three streams of information flooded into his mind.

Option 1: [Trading Market (Silver)]

Effect: A planar trading market will appear in your Divine Kingdom. There is an extremely low probability of attracting neutral planar merchants to come and trade.

Note: If you want to be rich, build roads first.

Option 2: [marksmans nest (Gold)]

Effect: Immediately gain three 2-star [Goblin Marksman]. Your goblin race unlocks the [Sharpshooter] advancement path. Thereafter, whenever all goblin believers are synthesized, there is a 20% chance to mutate into a Sharpshooter unit of the same star level.

Note: You already know how hard your fists are; now it's time to test how fast your arrows are.

Option 3: [Portable Forge (Gold)]

Effect: A portable forge will appear in your Divine Kingdom. Your believers have a certain probability of comprehending the [Blacksmithing] profession. Can forge conventional weapons and armor not higher than the 3-star believer level.

Note: Fighting empty-handed is not a good habit.

Fang Chuan's gaze swept rapidly across the three options.

Trading Market? Too slow. Right now, his Divine Kingdom is closed, and he doesn't even have any decent specialty products; even if a merchant came, he wouldn't be able to trade for anything good. Exclude.

Portable Forge? Very practical. Weapons and equipment provide a huge boost to combat power. But the problem is, his goblins can't even read; expecting them to comprehend blacksmithing from scratch, who knows how long that would take.

And who knows what that probability is?

A game from Old Ma's company—anyone who plays knows!

Only the second one!

[marksmans nest]!

Fang Chuan's eyes lit up instantly.

What is he missing most right now?

It's combat power!

It's long-range attack units!

In his legion, whether it's Fara, Warlord Oge, or those ordinary Goblin Warriors, they are all melee. Once they encounter enemies that can fly, or get kited, they will be very passive.

This Hextech directly filled his biggest shortcoming!

"I choose the second one, marksmans nest!" Fang Chuan gave the command decisively.

"Hum—"

The golden crystal in his mind shattered with a boom, turning into a stream of light that shot straight towards the land of the Divine Kingdom.

On an open space not far from the altar, light shone, and a strange building constructed of huge dead wood and vines rose from the ground, shaped like a giant bird's nest.

At the entrance of the nest, three goblins about 1.5 meters tall with agile figures were kneeling on one knee. They had dark brown skin, carried simple wooden bows on their backs, had quivers of feathered arrows hanging at their waists, and their eyes were as sharp as eagles.

[Race]: Goblin Marksman

[Level]: 1

[Talent]: 2-Star

[Constitution]: 22

[Strength]: 35

[Intelligence]: 40

[Speed]: 38

[Comprehensive Combat Power]: 75

[Faith Level]: True Believer

[Faith Output]: 5/day

Fang Chuan nodded with satisfaction.

Now, the prototype of his legion had appeared.

Fara is the invincible tank and commander-in-chief, Warlord Oge is the berserker charging into battle, the Goblin Warriors are cannon fodder, and the Goblin Marksman is the back-row fire support.

Everything is ready, all that's missing is the east wind.

"Should I go explore outside the Divine Kingdom?" Fang Chuan muttered to himself.

In the endless Divine Kingdom world, the gods' Divine Kingdoms can only affect the area the size of their own territory.

Fang Chuan's Divine Kingdom area is 110,000 square kilometers; you are relatively safe within this range.

Beyond this, it is full of danger; outside, it is filled with native fierce beasts of the Divine Kingdom or enemies from beyond the heavens.

"Fara."

"My God, Fara is here!"

"Assemble all warriors. After dawn, explore to the west. First, figure out the terrain; do not get entangled in battle!"

Fara's massive body shook violently, and then, a fanatical, extreme fighting spirit erupted from its body.

"As you command!"

It stood up abruptly and let out a low roar at Warlord Oge beside it: "Warlord Oge! Blow the horn! All tribesmen who can pick up weapons, gather in front of the altar!"

"Woo—"

The desolate and ancient sound of the horn rang out for the first time on this newly born land.

The goblins who were chopping trees, tanning animal hides, or playing—regardless of gender or age—stiffened the moment they heard the horn sound.

The next second, they dropped everything in their hands, grabbed stone axes, wooden sticks, or even just sharp stones from their simple shacks, with a hint of confusion and fear in their eyes, but more of an instinct stemming from their bloodline, rushing madly towards the altar.

In just a few minutes, over seven hundred goblins knelt, packing the open space in front of the altar.

Fara stood at the very front of all the goblins, its twenty-five-meter-tall body like an insurmountable mountain.