4: Dwarves join the fray, revolutionizing the structure of the divine realm!

The generous rewards from the midterm mock exam were like a shot of adrenaline injected into the newborn Divine Realm.

The power of the [Toughness Totem] was like a gentle stream, continuously nourishing every Wenxin Elf. They could clearly feel their bodies becoming sturdier, gaining a natural resilience against physical impacts. Although a 1-point increase in Constitution and 10% physical resistance seemed small, for the naturally frail elves, it was undoubtedly a timely help that patched a critical weakness.

The clue in the Divine Realm log regarding the [Sound of the Lost Forging Hammer] made Lin Zhou's heart race even more. Dwarves! If he could obtain this race, famous for forging and mining, the Divine Realm's technology tree and productivity would see a qualitative leap!

However, the [Grey Rock Trail] mentioned in the clue was located in the Astral Turbulence Zone, which was fraught with danger. Given the current strength of the Divine Realm, especially the lack of star-space exploration and combat capabilities, going there rashly was no different from seeking death.

“To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.” Lin Zhou's consciousness swept over the thriving Divine Realm, his gaze finally landing on the iron ore that steadily produced 300 units daily. “Before exploring the Grey Rock Trail, I must maximize the potential of existing resources and unlock a more powerful power system.”

His consciousness sank into the Temple of Civilization.

[Temple of Civilization Interface]:

Civilization Level: Dawn of Enlightenment (75/10000)

civilization points: 900

Unlocked Philosophies: [Confucianism] (First Glimpse) - Unlock Progress: 3%.

Technical Lineage: [Mohism] Philosophy Unlock Prerequisites (2/3): 1. Followers contact and initially utilize minerals (Completed); 2. Followers successfully create at least one creation containing the concept of 'machinery' ([Simple Ballista] Completed); 3. ??? (Not Met)

Unlockable Philosophies: (List omitted)

“The prerequisites for Mohism are only missing the last one.” Lin Zhou pondered, “What could this last one be? Large-scale collective collaborative construction? Or solving a specific engineering problem?”

He temporarily suppressed his doubts and turned his attention to how to make good use of the existing iron ore resources. The Literary Heart Elves had begun using crude methods to smelt iron ore. They had built simple earthen kilns near the Jixia Academy, using charcoal to heat the ore, hammering out irregular iron blocks, and then grinding them into iron arrowheads or making sturdier hoes and axes.

The efficiency was low, and the finished products were crude.

But this process itself seemed to be slowly nudging that final condition.

Lin Zhou did not interfere too much; he believed that practice brings true knowledge and was happy to see his followers explore autonomously. He only provided hints on the most basic physical or chemical principles through divine oracles when they hit a bottleneck, such as “blowing air can increase furnace temperature,” or “different carbon content will affect the hardness of iron,” and so on.

These scattered bits of knowledge, bolstered by the wisdom halo of the Jixia Academy and the elves' own [Elegant] trait, were rapidly absorbed, understood, and tested.

Time passed during the steady development of the Divine Realm (while only a day or two might have passed in the outside world, several months had gone by within the Divine Realm). The average level of the Literary Heart Elves rose to LV5, and Elwin even reached LV7. Their mastery of the Vast Righteous Qi became more proficient, with the domain range expanding to 150 meters and the suppression effect slightly increasing.

During this period, the discussions about Lin Zhou in class did not stop. Zhao Hao seemed to have become much quieter after the blow of the mock exam, but the occasional glances he cast were still sinister. Su Yueyao, on the other hand, took the initiative to exchange a few words with Lin Zhou about her insights on “Order Domain Construction” during a Divine Realm practice class. Although she remained cold, her goodwill was evident. Lin Zhou could feel a faint attraction between the moonlight-like divine power she possessed and his own Fire of Civilization, but his current focus was on development, so he responded politely without deepening the relationship.

On this day, Elwin offered a prayer and report to Lin Zhou:

“Great my god, your humble servant reports to you. We have attempted to improve the smelting methods according to your guidance. However, with only our current manpower and tools, it is difficult to increase efficiency. Forging a decent iron tool requires several clansmen to work for many days. Should we concentrate all our efforts on first forging a holy relic that symbolizes divine authority for you?”

Lin Zhou's heart stirred. Concentrating all efforts to complete a complex creation that surpassed current individual capabilities? This might be the opportunity to unlock the final prerequisite for Mohism!

“There is no need to forge a holy relic,” Lin Zhou sent down a divine oracle. “Elwin, gather all the clansmen, including those responsible for hunting and gathering. Our goal is to build a [Water-Powered Bellows] downstream of the creek, relying on the mountain terrain, that can use the power of the water flow to automatically blow air for the smelting furnace!”

He clearly transmitted the simple structural diagram and working principle of the Water-Powered Bellows (an ancient hydraulic blower) from his mind through the divine oracle. This was a relatively complex engineering project involving the production and coordination of multiple components like water wheels, connecting rods, transmission shafts, and leather bellows. It was impossible for a few elves to complete it alone.

Elwin received the information, and although she found it profound, the flames of challenge ignited in her eyes. “Your will be done! This will be a test of our wisdom and cooperation!”

All 102 Literary Heart Elves in the entire Divine Realm (including the two weak elves staying behind) were mobilized! Under Elwin's overall command, they divided the labor and collaborated:

Those with stronger physical strength were responsible for felling suitable timber and quarrying stone.

Those with skillful hands and attention to detail were responsible for grinding wooden components and sewing leather bags according to the divinely inspired blueprints.

The few with the highest intelligence, including Elwin, continuously calculated and adjusted the position and angle of the water wheel and the length of the connecting rods to ensure smooth transmission.

The light of the Jixia Academy seemed to shine even brighter because of this, accelerating their understanding and learning. They encountered countless difficulties in the process: the water wheel not turning smoothly, connecting rods breaking, leather bags leaking... but under the collective wisdom and the spirit of never giving up, they overcame them one by one.

Lin Zhou watched silently, only using a small amount of faith to make fine adjustments at the most critical moments or to point out a neglected physical principle.

When the last wooden transmission peg was hammered into place, and when the power of the stream was converted through the water wheel and connecting rods into a continuous and steady blast of air into the newly built, larger smelting furnace—

Boom! The furnace fire suddenly turned white-hot! The temperature rose sharply! The iron ore piled inside melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, and impurities separated!

It was a success!

All the elves involved in the construction let out earth-shaking cheers. They looked at the automatically operating [Water-Powered Bellows] and the raging furnace fire, their eyes filled with the joy of creation and the shock of their own power!

[System Prompt]: Your followers have successfully built a [Water-Powered Bellows] with certain automated functions through large-scale collaboration! Production efficiency has significantly increased! Iron ore utilization increased by 20%! [System Prompt]: Your followers have deeply realized the Way of Creation through the practice of 'Craftsmanship' and 'collaboration'! The prerequisite for unlocking the [Mohism] philosophy (3/3) has been met! [System Prompt]: Do you want to consume 100 civilization points to unlock the [Mohism] philosophy?

“Unlock!” Lin Zhou said without hesitation.

“Consumed 100 civilization points, successfully unlocked [Mohism] philosophy (First Glimpse).” “Obtained partial content infusion of the core Mohist classic, 'Mozi'.” “Obtained initial miracle building blueprint — [Tiangong Workshop (Projection)]!” “Unlocked core Mohist skills: [The Exploitation of the Works of Nature] and [Basic Mechanism Technique]!”

A stream of information even more majestic and vast than when unlocking Confucianism flooded into Lin Zhou's consciousness! It was wisdom regarding logical reasoning, mechanical manufacturing, the way of defense, and concepts like 'Universal Love' and 'Non-Aggression'! Countless exquisite mechanical creations, city defense designs, and tool blueprints flashed through his mind!

At the same time, a building phantom blueprint more 'practical' and 'industrial' than the Jixia Academy unfolded in his heart — the Tiangong Workshop! This would be the place where all future whimsical ideas would turn into reality!

He immediately put the construction of the [Tiangong Workshop (Projection)] on the agenda, choosing a location between the ore vein and the stream, facing the Jixia Academy from a distance. The faith power required for construction far exceeded that of the academy, needing a full 500 units! Lin Zhou used all his recent faith reserves and even advanced some future output to barely scrape enough together.

When the workshop, radiating a metallic luster and the phantom of rotating gears, rose from the ground in the Divine Realm, the rules of 'creation' and 'logic' throughout the Divine Realm became active!

[Tiangong Workshop (Projection)] (Miracle Building)

Effects:

Follower research and construction speed within range +100%.

Slightly increases the chance of creations having 'Excellent' attributes.

Can research, analyze, replicate, and improve various technical blueprints and mechanical creations here.

Trait: [Logical Hotbed] - Enhances the logical thinking ability of followers within range.

Immediately after, Lin Zhou taught the two core skills of Mohism to Elwin and all elves whose intelligence and agility met the standards.

[The Exploitation of the Works of Nature] (Passive/Domain Skill): Greatly enhances research and construction efficiency within the Divine Realm. Current Level (Beginner): Tech research efficiency +50%, building construction speed +100%. [Basic Mechanism Technique] (Active/Manufacturing Skill): Can manufacture mechanical beasts/puppets with special abilities, or their components. The higher the degree of mastery, the more complex and powerful the manufactured objects.

With theoretical guidance and a practical base, the creativity of the Literary Heart Elves saw an explosion! Under Elwin's leadership, they utilized the Tiangong Workshop to:

Improve the [Water-Powered Bellows], making it more efficient and durable.

Design and manufacture standardized anvils, hammers, and molds, achieving initial standardization in ironware manufacturing and significantly increasing the yield rate.

Begin attempting to manufacture more complex tools, such as lifting devices using pulley blocks for moving heavy objects.

Even start developing the first true 'mechanical creation' — an [Automatic Forging Hammer] prototype that could automatically move back and forth to forge iron billets!

The development of the Divine Realm changed with each passing day. Hardened roads began to appear in the woodlands, sturdier wooden bridges were erected over the streams (using mortise and tenon joints and simple truss principles internally), iron plates were inlaid in the key parts of the elves' leather armor, and the bows in their hands were replaced with stronger iron-backed bows and all-metal arrowheads.

[Divine Realm Interface] Refreshed:

Divine Realm Name: Unnamed (Rapid Development)

Divine Realm Size: 3.5 square kilometers (Steady Expansion)

Divine Realm Environment: Order Woodland (Habitability: 55/100)

Core Followers: Literary Heart Elves (LV 5-6)

Quantity: 102

Average Attributes: Strength 5-6, Agility 12-13, Constitution 6 (+1), Intelligence 10, Wisdom 10, Charisma 17

Faith Level: Shallow Believers (Majority), Devout Believers (Minority)

Status: [Creative Enthusiasm], [Firm Faith]

Traits: [Elegant Lv1], [Toughness Lv1], [Ingenuity Lv1] (New: Chance to temporarily modify or optimize equipment during combat or work)

Daily Faith Output: 80 units (Continually Growing)

Available Faith Reserves: 50 units (Huge Consumption)

Divine Power: 0

Divine Realm Buildings: [Jixia Academy (Projection)], [Tiangong Workshop (Projection)], [Small Ore Vein], [Water-Powered Bellows], [Basic Smelting Yard]... Fusion Cards: 0/10

Special Resources: Iron Ore (Daily output 300 units, utilization rate improved)

[Temple of Civilization Interface] Updated Simultaneously:

Civilization Level: Dawn of Enlightenment (120/10000)

civilization points: 800

Unlocked Philosophies:

[Confucianism] (First Glimpse) - Unlock Progress: 5%.

[Mohism] (First Glimpse) - Unlock Progress: 2%.

Technical Lineage: Detected 'Creation' and 'Order' running in parallel within the Divine Realm; [Mohism] and [Confucianism] have produced an initial synergy effect (Research speed additional +10%).

Looking at this land full of vitality and creativity, Lin Zhou knew that the time to explore the Grey Rock Trail was gradually ripening. He already possessed an initial industrial foundation and technical reserves.

However, just as he was preparing to further accumulate strength and plan the exploration scheme, the Divine Realm link once again brought a message from Teacher Li. This time, however, it was not a collective notification, but one sent to him individually:

“Student Lin Zhou, please come to the Academic Affairs Office. Regarding the extra rewards for your midterm mock exam and the follow-up matters concerning the [Dwarf Miner] Race Card clue, I need to confirm with you in person.”

Extra rewards? Race card clue follow-up?

Lin Zhou's heart stirred. His consciousness returned to reality, and he stood up to walk toward the Academic Affairs Office.

He knew that this might not be as simple as just collecting rewards. Opportunities were often accompanied by new challenges.