1: The divine realm is collapsing? You're bound to the Temple of Civilization from the start!

Cold, stinging, suffocating.

Lin Zhou's consciousness was forcibly dragged out from a chaotic deep sea, like a drowning person finally breaking the surface, gasping for breath, greedily breathing non-existent air.

Unfamiliar memories, like a bursting flood, washed over his mind overbearingly, bringing waves of tearing pain.

Blue Star, Great Xia Federation, Yuncheng No. 1 High School, grade 12 Class 1... Divine Realm Awakening Ceremony... Universal Godhood... Cultivating followers... Conquering the Astral Plane... A bizarre and magnificent scroll of the era of gods slowly unfolded before his eyes.

And "he" was an ordinary grade 12 student at Yuncheng No. 1 High School, also named Lin Zhou. His parents died early, and he struggled through school on a meager pension and scholarships. His greatest hope was to awaken a follower race with good potential during this fate-deciding Divine Realm Awakening Ceremony to change his life.

However, fate seemed to have played a cruel joke on him.

His consciousness was currently floating above a small, dilapidated space. Below was a piece of land less than three square kilometers, with sparse, withered yellow trees and shrubs. The soil was barren, showing cracked patterns. This was his Divine Realm—an initial Divine Realm that had just awakened but was already on the verge of collapse.

In the center of the Divine Realm, over a hundred small figures were curled up. They had pointed ears and fair skin, and should have been agile Forest Elves, but now they were all gaunt and sallow, their eyes dim. Their simple hemp clothes were tattered, and their exposed skin was covered in dirt and minor wounds. The [Basic Berry Bushes] they relied on for survival were withering in large patches at a visible rate, and the few remaining berries were shriveled and black.

[Divine Realm Interface]

Divine Realm Name: Unnamed (On the verge of collapse)

Divine Realm Size: 3.1 square kilometers (Continuously shrinking)

Divine Realm Environment: Barren Woodland (Current Habitability: 12/100, continuously decreasing)

Core Followers: Forest Elves (LV 1-3)

Quantity: 102

Average Attributes: Strength 4, Agility 11, Constitution 5, Intelligence 8, Wisdom 6, Charisma 15

Faith Level: Casual Believer (Faith Output Efficiency: 0.1 units of faith/person/day)

Status: [Hungry], [Desperate], [Wavering Faith]

Daily Faith Output: Approx. 10.2 units (Continuously decreasing)

Available Faith Reserves: 1,000 units (The original owner's final reserve used to delay the collapse)

Divine Power: 0 (Demigods cannot autonomously convert divine power)

Divine Realm Buildings: None

Fused Cards: 0/10

"Forest Elves... F-rank evaluation... Divine Realm collapse countdown..."

Outside, the regretful voice of Teacher Li came faintly through the Divine Realm link, carrying a hint of helplessness: "Student Lin Zhou's Divine Realm... followers are Forest Elves, potential assessment... F-rank. Currently, the Divine Realm is extremely unstable, on the verge of collapse, with violent vital signs and mental fluctuations... Everyone, take this as a warning; Divine Realm awakening is not absolutely safe..."

"Pfft..." A blatant sneer sounded nearby, coming from a tall student wearing expensive Divine Realm protective gear, Zhao Hao. His voice carried undisguised superiority: "Forest Elves? Useless except for looking good. They develop slowly, have weak combat power, and can't fight. Looks like our class is going to have its first dropout."

The surrounding classmates also cast looks of sympathy, schadenfreude, or indifference.

Lin Zhou (the transmigrator) felt his heart sink to the bottom. He had inherited everything from the original owner, including this mess and the original owner's strong unwillingness and despair. A hell-mode start? A collapsing Divine Realm meant he would either become a vegetable or suffer direct brain death!

He could feel the chaos at the edge of the Divine Realm slowly but firmly encroaching, and the area of the Divine Realm was shrinking bit by bit. The Forest Elves huddled together, their low sobs and desperate prayers piercing his consciousness like fine needles.

"Great God... have you truly abandoned us?" "Hungry... so hungry..." "Mom... are we going to die?"

Their faith threads were so weak they were almost breaking, providing negligible faith power, and were full of distractions and negative emotions. More seriously, Lin Zhou could clearly perceive that several elves were already on the brink of death due to hunger and weakness, their life force like a flickering candle in the wind.

No! He couldn't just sit and wait for death!

Lin Zhou forced himself to calm down, frantically searching through the original owner's memories and any potential changes brought by his transmigration. The original owner was a quiet person with no special talents other than studying hard. Transmigration... in his past life, he was just an ordinary liberal arts student with a hobby for history and philosophy... Just as his consciousness began to blur from the turbulent impact of the Divine Realm's collapse, as if it were about to be torn apart—

Boom!

A palace, whose majesty and ancientness were beyond words, suddenly crashed into the depths of his soul!

It was not a physical entity, yet it felt more real than any physical object. With carved beams and painted rafters, flying eaves and bracket sets, it exuded an aura of vastness, weight, and wisdom. Above the palace gates, a massive plaque shimmered with four Great Dao runes that were both familiar and strange to him—[Temple of Chinese Civilization]!

"Host soul compatibility detected at 100%, civilization spark not extinguished, binding conditions met..." "[Temple of Chinese Civilization] successfully bound!" "Core function [Civilization Inheritance] activated!" "Initial civilization points: 1,000." "Survival crisis detected for the host, issuing newbie benefits: [Basic Resource Supply Card] x1!"

A cool current of air instantly smoothed the soul's intense pain and the Divine Realm's turmoil. Lin Zhou's consciousness became clearer than ever before.

In his "mind's eye," another interface appeared, parallel to the simple Divine Realm interface.

[Temple of Civilization Interface]

Host: Lin Zhou

Civilization Level: Dawn of Ignorance (0/10,000)

civilization points: 1,000

Unlocked Schools of Thought: None

Unlockable Schools of Thought:

Confucianism (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Order and Moral Education. Core Classics: the analects, Mencius, etc.

Legalism (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Law and Governance. Core Classics: Han Feizi, The Book of Lord Shang, etc.

Mohism (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Logic and Creation. Core Classics: Mozi, etc.

Taoism (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Nature and Detachment. Core Classics: tao te ching, Zhuangzi, etc.

School of Military (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Strategy and Conquest. Core Classics: The Art of War, etc.

School of Agriculture (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Foundations. Core Classics: Fan Shengzhi Shu, etc.

School of Medicine (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Life. Core Classics: Huangdi Neijing, etc.

School of Names (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Logic. Core Classics: Gongsun Longzi, etc.

School of Diplomacy (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of General Trends. Core Classics: Guiguzi, etc.

School of Miscellaneous (100 civilization points to unlock) - The Path of Integration. Core Classics: Lüshi Chunqiu, etc.

Exchangeable Items: Not yet opened (requires unlocking corresponding schools of thought)

Civilization Wonders: Not yet opened (insufficient civilization level)

Inventory: [Basic Resource Supply Card] x1

[Basic Resource Supply Card] (Resource Card/Common-White)

Effect: Upon use, immediately obtain the following resources:

Food (Nutrient-rich grains and fruits) x 500 units

Clean drinking water x 300 units

Basic medical herbs x 50 units

Remarks: A newbie gift from the Temple of Civilization to help you through the initial crisis.

A Hundred Schools of Thought contend! Huaxia Civilization!

Lin Zhou's heart beat violently, and an indescribable surge of excitement and pride welled up in his heart. This was the golden finger brought by transmigration! The spark of his homeland's civilization!

There was no time to hesitate; the Divine Realm was still collapsing, and the elves were still starving to death. The most important thing right now was to stabilize the situation, solve the survival crisis, and consolidate faith!

"Use [Basic Resource Supply Card]!"

In an instant, piles of plump golden grains, fresh juicy fruits, barrels of clear drinking water, and bundles of fragrant herbs appeared out of thin air in the open space at the center of the divine domain. The appearance of these supplies brought a rich aura of vitality, instantly diluting the sense of decay within the divine domain.

The hungry elves were stunned by this sudden miracle. They looked at the food in disbelief, their throats swallowing unconsciously.

"A miracle! It's a miracle!" "Food! It's fresh food!" "The great god has responded to us!"

Lin Zhou seized this opportunity and immediately unlocked the [Confucianism] school of thought!

"Unlock [Confucianism] school of thought!"

"Consumed 100 civilization points, successfully unlocked [Confucianism] (First Glimpse)." "Received infusion of partial content from the Confucian core classic, the analects." "Received initial miracle building blueprint — [Jixia Academy (Projection)]."

A vast flow of information poured into Lin Zhou's consciousness. At the same time, a grand phantom blueprint of an academy unfolded in his heart.

"Construct miracle building — [Jixia Academy (Projection)]!"

Faith power, like golden streams, converged from all parts of the divine domain to the center, quickly outlining and filling the phantom of that academy. When the ancient hall's outline slowly condensed in the center of the divine domain, emitting a gentle yet firm light of Order, the entire divine domain, which was on the verge of collapse, suddenly shuddered!

The erosion speed of the chaotic currents slowed down abruptly. A faint trace of vitality seemed to be injected into the barren land.

Just then, Lin Zhou utilized his meager authority as a demigod and master of the divine domain to transform the fragments of the analects he had just understood into a divine oracle imbued with power. Like a spring breeze turning into rain, it was imprinted deep into the minds of every elf:

"In education, there should be no distinction of classes!" "To learn and at due times to practice what one has learned, is that not a pleasure??" "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you." "The benevolent man loves others!"

...At the same time, the distribution method for the food and water naturally appeared in the hearts of the elves in the form of rules — fair distribution, priority to the old and weak, no fighting allowed.

The divine oracle and the life-saving food arrived simultaneously!

The confusion and despair in the elves' eyes began to melt like ice and snow. They first cautiously took the food and water. After feeling the long-lost sense of fullness and sweetness, they burst into earth-shattering cheers and tears. Then, they spontaneously bowed and chanted the divine oracle toward the direction of the [Jixia Academy (Projection)] and the divine consciousness they perceived in the void.

The threads of faith on them, which were originally so weak they were almost extinguished, suddenly became solid and thick! The color also rapidly changed from the gray-white representing Pan-believers to the pure white representing Shallow Believers!

[System Prompt]: Your followers, the Forest Elves, have received sufficient food supplies; [Hunger] status removed! [System Prompt]: Your followers, the Forest Elves, have been enlightened by Confucianism; Intelligence attribute increased! [System Prompt]: Your followers, the Forest Elves, have felt the power of Order and benevolence; faith has become firm! [System Prompt]: Your followers' faith level has increased, promoted from [Pan-believer] to [Shallow Believer]! [System Prompt]: Due to the injection of the power of Order, your divine domain's stability has significantly increased; [Collapse] status removed! [System Prompt]: Your divine domain environment has been influenced by the light of civilization, changing from [Barren Woodlands] to [Orderly Woodlands]!

A series of system prompts sounded in Lin Zhou's consciousness like heavenly music.

He immediately looked at the divine domain interface, and the data had undergone earth-shaking changes:

[Divine Domain Interface]

Divine Domain Name: Unnamed (Stable)

Divine Domain Size: 3.1 square kilometers (Stopped shrinking)

Divine Domain Environment: Orderly Woodlands (Current habitability: 35/100, slowly recovering)

Core Followers: Forest Elves -> Literary Heart Elves (LV 1-3, some units beginning to flash for upgrade)

Quantity: 102 (No casualties, stable life aura)

Average Attributes: Strength 4, Agility 11, Constitution 5, Intelligence 8 -> 9, Wisdom 6 -> 9, Charisma 15 -> 16

Faith Level: Shallow Believer (Faith output efficiency: 0.5 units of faith/person/day)

Status: [Full], [Seeking Knowledge], [Hope], [Firm Faith]

New Trait: [Refinement Lv1] - Easier to comprehend knowledge, spell cultivation speed +10%.

Daily Faith Output: 10.2 -> 51 units (Continuously stable)

Available Faith Reserve: 0 (Consumed)

Divine Power: 0

Divine Domain Building: [Jixia Academy (Projection)] (Effect: Wisdom +3 for followers within range, slight increase in comprehension, significantly enhanced faith stability)

Fused Cards: 0/10

Resource Status: Sufficient food reserves, can support for about 5 days.

[Temple of Civilization Interface]

civilization points: 900 (1000 - 100)

Unlocked Thoughts: [Confucianism] (First Glimpse)

Civilization Level: Dawn of Ignorance (50/10000) (Civilization improved due to successful spread of thought)

Inventory: Empty

...Outside, the classroom of Class 1, grade 12 at Yuncheng No. 1 High School.

The divine domain connection pod suspended in mid-air suddenly emitted a piercing alarm. It was no longer the red alarm representing a life-threatening emergency, but a yellow alarm representing violent data fluctuations!

On the large light screen on the side of the connection pod, the two curves representing Lin Zhou's vital signs and mental strength had fallen to the bottom, almost becoming a straight line. However, at that very moment, the two curves rocketed up at a nearly vertical angle, instantly breaking through the safety line and continuing to climb, leaving the steady curves of other students far behind!

"This... how is this possible?!" Teacher Li, the class teacher, suddenly stood up from the podium, adjusted his glasses, and looked at the data on the light screen in disbelief. "Divine domain stability soared from 15% to 65%?! Average follower attributes increased? Collective promotion of faith levels?! Hunger status removed?! What happened?!"

The classroom was in an uproar!

All the students stared dumbfounded at the miraculous data changes.

"Holy crap! Is this a ghost?! Wasn't it about to collapse just now?" "Forest Elves? Attribute boost? Faith promotion? Hunger removed? This doesn't fit common sense!" "What on earth did he do in the divine domain?"

Zhao Hao, who had been full of mockery just a moment ago, had his smile completely frozen on his face, his mouth slightly open, enough to fit an egg. His face turned pale and green, his eyes filled with incomprehension and shock.

Just then, the door of the connection pod opened slowly with a "hiss".

Lin Zhou slowly opened his eyes, his black pupils deep and steady, as if they had experienced thousands of years of accumulation. He sat up, his gaze calmly sweeping across the classroom, taking in everyone's shock, doubt, and disbelief.

His gaze paused slightly on Zhao Hao's stiff face for a brief moment without any expression, then moved away.

Finally, his gaze landed on the classroom door.

A young girl stood there at some point. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her skin was as fair as snow, and her temperament was as cold as the moon. Her bright eyes, carrying a hint of surprise and inquiry, were quietly watching him.

Lin Zhou remembered her: Su Yueyao, the genius of the class and a famous ice goddess in the whole school. It was said she came from a prominent family and had extremely high divine domain potential.

Their gazes met briefly in the air.

Su Yueyao nodded slightly, the surprise in her eyes turning into a faint, interested light, then she turned and left, leaving behind a trace of cold, subtle fragrance.

Lin Zhou withdrew his gaze, feeling the towering Temple of Chinese Civilization deep in his soul, as well as the 102 Literary Heart Elves in the divine domain who had been reborn through food and Confucianism.

The corner of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.

Forest Elves? Trash followers?

No, from today on, they are Literary Heart Elves, the first sparks of Huaxia civilization in this era of gods!

The dual crisis of material and spirit had been resolved, and all of this was just the beginning.

The glory of the Hundred Schools of Thought will surely shine again in this star domain!