《Start by Recruiting Earth Players》 Chapter 1: Come on, Workers! Shenmu City Jurisdiction. Borderland Wilderness. A primitive place. "Su Xiao, you are already eighteen years old yet still haven''t condensed a Godhead. You are hereby demoted to an ordinary disciple and sent out for training. After half a year, there will be an assessment. If you still fail to condense a Godhead and establish a Divine Kingdom, you will be expelled from the academy." Su Xiao sat on a rock, chewing a blade of grass while staring at the sky. The academy elder''s words echoed endlessly in his mind. He was a transmigrator, having crossed over into an Age of Gods. He had ignited his Godfire at the age of eight, shocking everyone and becoming the youngest student at Tianshu Academy. He thought his life was about to take off. But the reality was the exact opposite; for ten years, he had failed to condense a Godhead. Without condensing a Godhead, one couldn''t open a God Domain space, recruit believers, establish their own Divine Kingdom, or obtain the Power of Faith to increase their strength! Simply put: No Godhead, no becoming a god! The genius became invisible, subjected to constant ridicule. Three years ago, his family disowned him. Now, even the academy had given him an ultimatum. "Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully condensing the Godhead..." Suddenly, a mechanical voice sounded in Su Xiao''s mind. Su Xiao was startled, then overjoyed. It was the System! A golden halo appeared behind Su Xiao''s head, its light flickering, illuminating the surroundings. It was majestic and solemn, like the nimbus behind the Buddha''s head. After condensing a Godhead and opening a God Domain space within it, a God Domain Halo appears. The more colors in the God Domain Halo, the higher the quality of the Godhead, and the higher the upper limit on the number of halos one can manifest in the future. The size of the halo represents the size of the God Domain space. The larger the space, the more believers one can recruit, and the more Original Power of Faith can be obtained. A God Domain Halo with only one color was far too ordinary. At Tianshu Academy, there were quite a few people who manifested two-colored God Domain Halos after condensing their Godheads, and even geniuses with three colors existed! "I''ve awakened a System, and I only get one color? This makes no sense!" Su Xiao couldn''t help but pout. Shua! Just then, another color appeared within the golden halo: red... Followed by purple, cyan, yellow, orange... A total of nine colors. And the size of this halo also grew larger and taller, like a celestial gate stretching across the void. In an instant, the heavens and earth seemed to change color. An area several kilometers wide was illuminated by the nine-colored divine light, an extremely profound sight. "N-Nine... Nine colors..." Su Xiao stared at this scene, utterly shocked! As far as he knew, the record for the most colors in a God Domain Halo in Shenmu City was only five! This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. And he actually had nine! Thiswas the capital a super genius should possess! "Hahaha, worthy of a protagonist template! I, Su Xiao, am the eternal god!" (Translator''s Note: "eternal god" translates a popular Chinese internet slang ''yyds'') Su Xiao retracted the God Domain Halo, his joy beyond words! Host:Su XiaoDivine Name:NoneDivine Title:NoneGod Domain:1-StarGodhead Rank:Nine-Colored Supreme, 1-Star God ApostleBeliever Rank:Fourth Calamity, SSR-Rank (Translator''s Note: "Fourth Calamity" is a common term for Players in these settings; SSR is a gacha game rarity)Original Power of Faith:0 "Ding! Detected other wild God Apostles in the Borderland Wilderness. Conflicts will inevitably arise. Host, please recruit at least 10 believers as soon as possible to avoid being devoured by other God Apostles..." "Additionally, the Host''s first Divine Tribulation is about to descend. Please be prepared." "Mission: Successfully recruit at least 10 believers.""Mission Reward: Unknown." Suddenly, Su Xiao heard the System''s voice again. "???" Damn it! Danger is already here?Isn''t this too unlucky?Weren''t places like the Borderland Wilderness supposed to be trash-tier and have the least danger? The choice of location for establishing a Divine Kingdom is also extremely important. Good locations have abundant life forms, often of higher levels. Recruiting these high-level beings as believers greatly benefits future strength development, making them prime choices. However, having been demoted to an ordinary disciple, Su Xiao had no priority in choosing, so he could only select this poor, remote backwater. Su Xiao looked around. It was empty and desolate. Where the hell am I supposed to recruit believers...? "System, quick, think of something," Su Xiao pleaded with the System. "Ding! Detected that Host originates from Blue Star. The System can be used to recruit Blue Star players to come here and serve as the Host''s believers..." (Translator''s Note: Blue Star = Earth) "After successfully recruiting player believers, when players kill enemies, additional Original Power of Faith can be obtained. The Host can extract a corresponding proportion to nourish the Godhead and raise their level." Eh... Truly worthy of being the System! Su Xiao''s eyes lit up. This is quite ingenious. Normally, a main god obtains Original Power of Faith through the daily worship and offerings of their believers! But now, besides obtaining Original Power of Faith from player worship and offerings, he could also gain extra from them killing monsters. This was like being a landlord, having players grind monsters and level up for him. It felt incredibly awesome! Soon, using the System, Su Xiao created an online game recruitment website and began recruiting player believers on Blue Star! The online game was named:Miracle World. Su Xiao even deliberately put a large line of text on the website''s homepage:"In another world, already a god! Recruiting players, waiting for you to fight!" "Come on, workers!" Su Xiao thought silently. ... Blue Star. Final exams were over, winter break had arrived. Zeng Yu tossed his schoolbag aside, leaped onto his bed, and sprawled out. "Oh yeah, vacation at last! So damn happy! I can play games all night!" "Today, I''ll definitely hit Silver rank." Zeng Yu skillfully took an AR virtual reality gaming helmet from the cabinet, put it on, and began his happy winter break. Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared in Zeng Yu''s vision: ¡¶Miracle World¡·First Beta Test! Special beta accounts available! If you''re my bro, come fight me!(Translator''s Note: "If you''re my bro, come fight me!" is a classic, often memed, Chinese game ad slogan) "A new game?" Zeng Yu was always very curious about every new game. "Let''s see..." "Wow, this official website looks so crappy." Zeng Yu clicked into the game''s official website and found only a video showcasing game scenery and a few promotional slogans. Compared to other flashy websites, this was really lacking. "Follow and become a god, resist and become a demon. God or demon, it''s just a thought away!" Zeng Yu: "???" Damn, such a chuuni slogan. (Translator''s Note: Chuuni refers to ''Eighth-grader syndrome'' - overly dramatic, self-important, often cringey). But I like it! With a ''let''s try it'' attitude, Zeng Yu registered an account, naming it:AllStud. Soon, Zeng Yu entered the game screen. The scenery here was pleasant, like a dream or illusion. The multi-colored sky was filled with spatial-temporal rifts, like a mirror that was cracked but hadn''t shattered. Deep within spacetime, enormous, pale blue fish large enough to occupy half the sky slowly swam from east to west, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden, as if projected from ancient times. Below the sky stretched vast primeval forests. "Holy crap, this scenery is kinda realistic!" [AllStud]looked up and pinched himself. Ouch! Holy crap! There''s even a sensation of pain!Such a realistic feeling!There''s actually a game this realistic on the market? [AllStud]was shocked! Chapter 2: SSR-Tier Believer, Such a Chuunibyou These days, games on the market had all entered the realm of VR helmets, capable of immersing players into virtual game worlds to experience the most realistic environments. However, despite playing so many games, Zeng Yu had never encountered one like this that could actually represent the sensation of pain! This game''s attention to detail was incredible! A chilling wind blew past. "Whoa, I can actually feel a draft around my crotch, awesome!" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ subconsciously covered his groin. In the distance. Su Xia watched this player from Earth, who seemed like a country bumpkin visiting the big city for the first time, utterly speechless. What an unworldly fellow!Only one player?Does my protagonist template not command more respect than this? Su Xia wanted to approach and greet him, but then remembered he was supposed to be their god now, effectively an NPC. He couldn''t lose his mystique. An idea sparked. Mimicking game openings, he conjured up a narrative introduction. ¡¾In the ancient war between gods and demons, Heaven and Earth were torn asunder. Time and space barely survived, continuing on this fertile land...¡¿ ¡¾The vanished gods shall eventually return. A calamity spanning millennia is about to descend. The great war between gods and demons stirs once more...¡¿ ¡¾Mysterious races begin to awaken, joining this vast battlefield...¡¿ ¡¾I, Su Xia, am the Son of a God. I shall lead you to reforge the glory of the Northern Border God-King Race. Are you willing to fight alongside me?¡¿ This passage suddenly echoed in ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿''s mind. Immediately after, he saw nine-colored divine light manifest in the void on a nearby mountaintop. A figure stood at the peak, just like a deity from a mythological film. "Holy crap, is this a legendary god?" "Damn, this feels so real!" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ felt a surge of hot-blooded passion rush through him. "Willing! Hell yes, I''m willing..." "Do we get wives distributed? You know, I''m WellEndowed..." "Whoops, no, I mean, do we get equipment? How do we play?" He was totally hyped! Su Xia dismissed the nine-colored divine domain aura and walked up to ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿. "This is a fully open-world sandbox game. Everything needs to be created by you all." "All players will join me in conquering the Miracle World, starting small and gradually establishing our own Divine Dynasty!" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Players will sign a contract with me, binding them..." "..." As Su Xia explained the terms, ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ gradually understood. "Holy shit, this kind of MMO actually exists?" "A team-based MMO, following an NPC around... I''ve never played anything like it." Players could level up by killing monsters, but everything obtained must be handed over to the Divine Dynasty. These contributions would be exchanged for Contribution Points within the Dynasty, which could then be used in the Dynasty''s store to redeem needed items. Players would participate in all aspects of the Dynasty''s development, including construction, farming, crafting... They needed to be united, working together to upgrade the Dynasty and defend against dangers. The enemies they would face weren''t just monsters, but also the incredibly powerful natives within the game world. "When the time comes, can we snatch native women and have kids with them?" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ bounced excitedly, leaning in close to scrutinize Su Xia. "You can." "Oh yeah! Let''s get started! My big D... uh, big knife is thirsty for action!" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ danced with excitement and signed the contract. Messing with NPCs was his favorite part of gaming. The female NPCs in games were always fair-skinned, beautiful, with explosive figures... just thinking about it was damn exciting... "Ding! Congratulations Host, you have gained your first SSR-grade player believer..." SSR-grade?Su Xia drew a sharp breath. This was the highest tier of believer. "However, you can''t do that right now. Establishing the Divine Dynasty requires 10 players, and currently, you''re the only one." "You understand what I mean..." Su Xia''s eyes glinted. He hoped this guy could go out and recruit some more people. "Got it, got it! Easy peasy. I have a small league: 818869149. It''s full of game-loving idiots like me. I''ll promote it for you when I log off." "So, where are the monsters?" "Where are they?" "I need to kill monsters and level up!" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ asked Su Xia. Perhaps Heaven was listening, because just then, a cold gust blew through. A translucent shadow appeared nearby, looking at Su Xia. Su Xia''s pupils contracted. Was that ghost believer from the wild god disciple already here scouting? "Whoa! A monster appeared!" "Newbie village monsters shouldn''t be tough, right? I''m gonna go chop it up." ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ excitedly charged towards the ghostly monster. However, he failed to notice a protruding rock nearby. He kicked it, smashing his forehead directly onto the rock''s sharp edge. Blood spurted out, he struggled for a few moments, and then just kicked the bucket! Su Xia: "???" Just like that... SSR?Could this guy even win against other believers? His heart sank! ... Su Xia was utterly speechless! Luckily, this guy was just a player, possessing the ability to resurrect infinitely. That was the terrifying aspect of the Fourth Calamity. The ghost believer, however, was startled by the event and transformed into a cold wind, fleeing immediately. Su Xia could only watch helplessly as it went back to report. After all, he had just condensed his Godhead and hadn''t cultivated yet; he had zero strength. "Hopefully, this guy can actually help me recruit 10 people." ... "Damn it! I actually got killed by a rock!" "I, Zeng Yu, have never suffered such humiliation in my life!" "Aaaah..." Zeng Yu ripped off the VR helmet and started screaming like a madman on his bed. "Right, I need to recruit people!" "818869149." Suddenly remembering that 10 players were needed to start the story, Zeng Yu quickly grabbed his phone and found the chat group named "Demonfall Legion". "Commanding Wind and Rain!" "Superstar Status!" "84 Disinfectant!" "Ah Shiba! My subjects, come forth! @everyone." ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ tagged everyone in the group. "@ing everyone is asking for your whole family to be cremated!" "Son, why are you calling your dad?" "Anyone who @''s me is an idiot!" "..." Instantly, a large number of lurkers popped up in the chat. ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿: Guys, don''t panic, let me explain slowly! I found a game today called ''Miracle World'', and the stuff inside is super f***ing realistic... "Realistic? Really realistic? Have you seen it?" "Trying to trick me into spending money on a trash game again!" "Isn''t Honor of Kings good enough?" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿: I''m serious! I died to a rock in the game, can you believe it? And this game is different from others, it''s a fully open-world sandbox MMO. "Damn, that kind of game exists? Tell us more." "Sounds kind of interesting, maybe give it a try?" "Send the website link." "..." ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ sent the link to the ''Miracle World'' website. Immediately, quite a few people opened the webpage, registered accounts, and entered the game. Chapter 3: Starting with a Monster Siege? Su Xia was sitting idly on the ruins of the former sacred ground, spacing out. "Ding! A new player has logged into Miracle World...""Ding! A new player has logged into Miracle World...""..." As waves of notification sounds echoed in his mind. Swish, swish... Figures materialized one after another not far from the ruins, shimmering with light. "Holy crap! It''s the legendary ¡¾CrookedMouthWarGod¡¿! Pleasure to meet you!" One player looked at the name above the head of another person beside him and extended his hand. Only these players who entered via the system could see these ID names; other people or creatures in this world could not. "Whoa, it''s ¡¾DesolateHeavenEmperorYamete¡¿! Awesome, awesome!" "Hey everyone, hello. Yours truly is ¡¾ForeverTheGOAT¡¿." "..." Su Xia looked at this group''s nicknames, dark lines forming on his forehead. Damn it, did a bunch of chuunibyou idiot players just arrive?These IDs were too bizarre, for example: ¡¾YouAsheIMySoraka¡¿¡¾CarryingHotpotIntoAnotherWorld¡¿¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿... After this group of chuunibyou players introduced themselves to each other, they finally started to observe the "newbie village" before them. "Holy shit, is that the smell of earth?" "Holy crap, this dirt actually has a taste!" "Awesome! Is the dirt in this game salty?" A slightly chubby player with the ID ¡¾GluttonKing¡¿ grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, put it in his mouth, and chewed a couple of times. "This game is so damn good! I can actually feel my butt itching!" "Me too! I actually feel like I need to take a dump!" "Holy shit, it''s got that smell..." Bang!A player picked up a rock and smashed it against his own forehead.Blood immediately started streaming down. But instead, he cried out excitedly. "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! It''s too realistic! I can actually bleed, and it''s warm..." "Look, everyone!""I''m bleeding!" Everyone: "..." At this moment, Su Xia once again revealed the nine-colored divine domain aura behind him, instantly silencing the crowd. "Whoa, this NPC is so handsome! Love it, love it! I wanna tap that ass!" Some players rushed up to Su Xia, reaching out to touch the nine-colored divine domain aura behind him, and there was even one guy who wanted to poke Su Xia''s butt. "Do you think this guy is realistic?" "Don''t know. He''s probably male, right? Doesn''t have... those things..." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Pull his pants down and take a look..." Boom!With a dark expression, Su Xia lightly pulsed his nine-colored divine domain aura, knocking these guys away. Before his believers, he was an invincible existence. "Everyone, greetings.""Welcome to Miracle World. Now, I will show you the rules of Miracle World. If there are no issues, please sign the contract..." Su Xia put on an act, waved his hand grandly, and directly materialized the contract between the main god and believers within their minds. "Thought it was something special? We already knew." "Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and start the story, let''s start the game! I can''t wait anymore..." "Is there newbie equipment or not?" "..." After chattering away for a while, the 10 players quickly signed the contract. "Ding! Congratulations Host, you have obtained Faith Origin Power +10 +10 +10..." "Ding! Congratulations Host for completing the mission. You have obtained 9 SSR player believers. Reward: SSR God-Tier Body Refining Technique <>, plus three resurrection chances." The system''s voice sounded in his mind. Hot damn! It was actually a God-Tier Body Refining Technique! Main Gods increase their strength through faith, but their weakest point is typically physical body toughness. In the later stages, the requirement for physical toughness becomes paramount. A top-tier body refining technique is therefore extremely important for a Main God. An SSR God-Tier technique, needless to say, was definitely top-level. The system truly was extraordinary! "Ding! Host, please find the remaining runic foundation stone of the Main God Hall ruins within these ruins to prepare for establishing the Main God Hall." "Mission Reward: Unknown." Immediately after, the system issued a second mission. The Main God Hall is the core of a Divine Dynasty, similar to the Mahavira Hall in Buddhism, symbolizing supreme majesty. The Main God Hall is intimately connected to the God, representing the founding of the Divine Dynasty. Only with a Main God Hall can the faith power of believers be collected. The Main God Hall also functions as a one-way teleportation array. Within a certain range, with a mere thought, the Main God can traverse space and time to return to the Main God Hall. If it is destroyed, not only will the faith power dissipate, but the God who established that Main God Hall will also suffer a backlash. In mild cases, the Divine Dynasty collapses, believers perish, and the God''s rank falls! In severe cases, the divine soul is extinguished! Su Xia was just about to issue a quest for these 10 players to help find the Main God Hall ruins when the sound of running suddenly came from the distance. A group of scarecrows hopped over from the distance, their entire bodies engulfed in dark red flames. Su Xia inwardly cursed! The Divine Tribulation had actually arrived silently at this moment! He definitely couldn''t handle the Divine Tribulation right now. He was just about to tell these players to run. But the group of player believers became instantly excited upon seeing this troop of monsters. "Holy crap! What the f*** did I just see? Monsters!" "Starting with a monster siege? Nice one, my God!" "This is damn exciting! Don''t hold me back! Trash mobs from the newbie village, I''ll take on ten by myself!" Every God, upon initially condensing their Godhead, must face a Divine Tribulation. The magnitude of the Divine Tribulation depends on the Godhead condensed by the Main God. Simply put, the higher the quality of the Godhead, the more severe the Divine Tribulation faced. Su Xia currently possessed a Nine-Colored Godhead, meaning he faced a Nine-Colored Divine Tribulation. This was basically unprecedented in Divine Wood City. He had no idea how terrifying this tribulation would be, and thus, he had absolutely no plan to deal with it. Su Xia suddenly understood why the system had rewarded him with three resurrection chances. The system was probably pitying him, afraid he would just kick the bucket instantly!Don''t be fooled into thinking these were just scarecrows; they were legendary Undead Scarecrows. The flames on their bodies were terrifyingly potent ¨C merely touching a bit could burn one to ashes. Even a Main God couldn''t withstand being burned by it. Su Xia noticed at this moment that the void around the scarecrows faintly shimmered with black, jagged distortions, becoming somewhat warped, but the players didn''t seem to have noticed. "Let me tell you, I''ve seen these kinds of newbie village scarecrows the most in games." "Usually, killing a few mobs gets you a level up. If you''re lucky, they might even drop a wooden sword, hahaha..." ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ charged forward the fastest, as if afraid someone else would steal his monster kill. "Behold my Great Sun Tathagata Fist!" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ threw a punch at one of the scarecrows. Before he even got close, an intense burning sensation spread through his entire body, causing ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ to leap three feet into the air. "Holy shit! What the hell is this?" ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ let out a terrified scream mid-air. Before he could land, the scarecrow raised its withered palm and slapped down towards the center of his forehead. Bang... ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ was instantly incinerated into nothingness by the dark red flames, vanishing before everyone''s eyes. Everyone: "???" Chapter 4: Daxian Arrived, Daxian Was Gone This scene left many players stunned. "Awesome show, WellEndowed, you even know stealth..."¡¾DesolateHeavenEmperorYamete¡¿ clapped and cheered. Wait.Something seemed off about this situation. How could he possibly learn stealth right away when he hadn''t even chosen a class? "Awesome my ass! Something''s wrong, definitely wrong!" Smack!A scarecrow slapped out directly, melting ¡¾ForeverTheGOAT¡¿ once again. Now, the remaining people finally reacted. "Holy crap!" What the hell was this thing!Wasn''t this supposed to be a newbie village scarecrow?!The kind you could kill three of with one slash... Its combat power was terrifying!Starting out on hell difficulty? How the hell were we supposed to play this?! "I''m running!"¡¾YouAsheIMySoraka¡¿ turned tail and ran, but a ball of dark red flame landed on his back, making him disappear in a second. "Master Scarecrow, don''t kill me, I''m just a newbie...""Aaaah, so hot, my asshole''s gonna explode...""No, I don''t want to die yet..." In less than a few seconds, seven or eight players disappeared completely. The remaining few stood shivering in place, their legs turned to jelly. However, one guy with the ID ¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿ still appeared remarkably calm. "Hehehe, a bunch of idiots!""Charging in blindly without knowing anything. Games require strategy and brains, got it?""Your big bro here is a terrifying presence in the Bronze tier!""You two, go die first while I find their weakness!""Remember: Man stands, tower stands! Man falls, tower falls! As long as there''s life, the fight goes on!" ¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿ commanded the two beside him.At the same time, he started recording video. A hell-difficulty monster siege right at the start! A game this challenging absolutely needed to be recorded as a memento! However, under the scarecrows'' attacks, they were finished off in short order and went to meet their maker! The scarecrows'' gazes turned towards Su Xia again.Su Xia took a deep breath and turned to run.Can''t beat them, damn it, surely I can outrun them? Find a place to hide first!... "Holy crap!""I actually got insta-killed by a damn scarecrow?"¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ returned to the real world, almost exploding with rage! What kind of shitty game designer was this? It left you speechless. First time, tripped and fell, hit a rock, died.Second time, insta-killed by a newbie village scarecrow!Did it have to be this miserable! Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "My fate is mine, not Heaven''s to decide! I won''t accept this!"¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ roared and re-entered Miracle World. "Ding! Because you died in the game, you must wait three hours before you can re-enter the game." ???¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ was dumbstruck. This game was so hardcore, you had to wait three hours after dying?This damn shitty designer, did they even want to make money?¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ lost it. He immediately opened QQ, entered the "Demonfall Legion" group, and asked his buddies. Learning that everyone else was in the same boat, he instantly felt much better. "Recruit, recruit, recruit for revenge! We''ll use human wave tactics!" one person proposed.Soon, everyone agreed. "Hehe, looks like the video I recorded will be useful."¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿ grinned smugly. He logged onto a popular streaming site and found the famous streamer with the ID: Zhang Daxian.This streamer was extremely popular, having gained many fans thanks to his gameplay skills. He directly sent a Rocket (a high-value virtual gift). "Daxian, found a new game! I can''t even pass the first stage, got wiped by scarecrows, please carry me!" Hmm?A Rocket?Zhang Daxian, who was getting a bit bored playing Honor of Kings ("Pesticide" slang), saw the Rocket notification, and his fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard. "What game? Tell me." "It''s called ''Miracle World''. Starts on hell difficulty, requires skill and brains!" ¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿ typed his reply. Zhang Daxian: Wow, no way! Got wiped by scarecrows! Hahaha, skill and brains? Are you talking about me? Don''t worry, I''ll carry you to victory! After all, he was a big donor, gotta be polite. "Pausing Honor of Kings, trying out the new game ''Miracle World'', carrying the little bro to victory!"Subsequently, Zhang Daxian changed his stream title. "What game is this? The website is such garbage?"When Zhang Daxian saw the ''Miracle World'' website, he immediately cursed under his breath and felt a pang of regret. However, after hearing ¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿''s description of the game, he thought it sounded somewhat interesting."Ah well, might as well grant his wish." Soon, Zhang Daxian registered an account and entered the game.... A flash of light.Zhang Daxian entered ''Miracle World''.Looking at the surrounding scenery and the realistic sense of touch, he was shocked! "Th-this... is this game this realistic?"It felt just like the real world, completely unlike that garbage-tier official website. "Daxian, stop spacing out! Hurry up and fight the monster! I want to see how you pass the first stage."In the stream chat, ¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿ spammed the message. "Alright, alright, just a mere scarecrow, piece of cake!"Zhang Daxian picked up a wooden stick from the ground and started searching for the scarecrow''s figure. Sure enough, in the direction of the southeast ruins, he found a scarecrow that was searching for Su Xia.At the same time, the scarecrow spotted him and immediately lunged over. "Hahaha, bros, bring out the Great Swords! Watch me tear this scarecrow apart with my bare hands!"Zhang Daxian left a line of text on the stream overlay (likely via voice-to-text or similar) and then charged at the scarecrow. He said that, but inwardly he was quite cautious, because he felt the scorching heat even from a considerable distance. The scarecrow swung its arm to attack him, but Zhang Daxian skillfully dodged it.Luckily, the scarecrow wasn''t too fast. "Hahaha, look at my snake-like positioning! Slick or not?" Zhang Daxian messaged in the stream chat. "Hahaha, slick! Do it again!""Hit its asshole!""Daxian is awesome!" Seeing its attack dodged, the scarecrow flew into a rage from the shame and lunged at Zhang Daxian again.And Zhang Daxian, relying purely on his reflexes and speed, once again dodged its attack. "That''s it? This is it?""Little bro, you couldn''t even pass such a simple first stage?""And you dare call this hell difficulty?"Zhang Daxian teased. But suddenly, he realized something was wrong.Why did the scarecrow stop moving? At this moment, the scarecrow actually opened its mouth.Immediately, a terrifying stream of fire spewed out, instantly melting Zhang Daxian on the spot. "Holy f***, this thing has magic attacks!""Damn it, I was careless!"This was Zhang Daxian''s only thought before dying. At the same time.The stream chat also exploded! Chapter 5: Influx of Believers, Soaring Strength Zhang Daxian''s Stream: "Hahaha, Daxian''s down!""''A Lian [Daxian''s nickname], you''re so amazing, does your family know?''" (Sarcastic)"Hahaha, laughing my ass off! Zhang Daxian couldn''t even beat a scarecrow! Awesome!" (Sarcastic)"Zhang Daxian, forever the GOAT!""..." The stream chat was filled with viewers teasing Zhang Daxian. Having exited the game, Zhang Daxian was still a bit dazed.He just got instantly killed like that?Couldn''t even tank one hit. What the hell kind of game designer came up with this?However, this sparked Zhang Daxian''s primal urge to overcome the challenge. He especially wanted to prove himself in front of his fans. "''No worries, I''ll just go again.''""''Let''s see those Rockets! Daxian will one-shot those scarecrows.''" Zhang Daxian typed out those two lines and tried logging into Miracle World again, only to find there was a three-hour cooldown.This left him speechless. Actually, this three-hour cooldown time was a form of protection for the players.The system recruits players to this otherworld via soul travel through a space-time tunnel.Frequent travel would damage their souls significantly.Three hours allows the slightly shaken soul to recover before traveling again. The only solution to this problem is to establish the Main God Hall. Once built, players who die in-game can resurrect there instead of logging out.But currently, even Su Xia was being harassed relentlessly by the Divine Tribulation scarecrows; he had no time to build the Main God Hall. Meanwhile. A flash of light passed. Su Xia slowly came to, sitting on a rock amidst the ruins with lingering fear. He had been chased by a dozen scarecrows, running frantically for several hours. The scarecrows had looked slow at first, but unexpectedly, they actually possessed the ability to accelerate. Due to a moment of carelessness, Su Xia was directly melted by the dark red flames. Three resurrection chances, and now only two remained. Damn it! Su Xia glanced at the scarecrows in the distance ¨C not a single one missing ¨C and felt exasperated. This damn Divine Tribulation was way too difficult!"Before they find me, I need to quickly increase my strength." With some power, it would be much easier for Su Xia to handle the situation. In the world of deities, the higher a believer''s level and strength, the more Faith Origin Power they provide.The higher a believer''s tier, the more Faith Origin Power they provide as well. Su Xia''s player believers were SSR-tier. Each could provide an initial value of 10 Faith Origin Power per day, equivalent to 5 to 10 times that of other main gods'' believers.The attributes providing bonus Faith Origin Power were even more incredible!It was no exaggeration to say that Su Xia''s 10 player believers were worth 100 believers for others. Strands of Faith Origin Power poured into the Godhead within Su Xia''s mind.The Godhead flickered with light, divine radiance pulsed, shimmering brightly! You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Ding! Congratulations Host, Godhead upgraded from 1-Star God Disciple to 2-Star God Disciple..." Host: Su XiaDivine Name: NoneDivine Position: NoneDivine Domain: 1-StarGodhead Tier: Nine-Colored Supreme, 2-Star God DiscipleBeliever Tier: Fourth Calamity, SSR-Grade.Faith Origin Power: 0 Afterwards, Su Xia began cultivating <>. Three hours later. Zhang Daxian, who had endured the long wait, logged into Miracle World again. Because Zhang Daxian had been brutally wrecked, his stream had attracted a massive audience. So, logging in this time, there were many new players, including the previous ones like ¡¾IAmDemacia!¡¿ and others. These were new players who had originally just wanted to check things out and try something fresh. After experiencing the magnificent and extremely realistic scenery, they were instantly stunned! "Holy crap, is the simulation this realistic?""Hiss... Which game company made this game? This production quality is too damn awesome!""..." ... "Ding! Detected ¡¾WellEndowed¡¿ entering the game...""Ding! Detected ¡¾DesolateHeavenEmperorYamete¡¿ entering the game...""...""Ding! Detected new player ¡¾SoF***ingHandsome¡¿ logging into the game...""Ding! Detected new player ¡¾OneSlash999¡¿ logging into the game...""..." Streaks of light appeared before Su Xia''s eyes, making him pause for a moment. Why did so many people suddenly log in? Su Xia did a rough count; there were a full 99 of them!!!Going from 10 player believers instantly to 99 player believers, this huge leap left Su Xia a bit bewildered! However, hearing the clamor of this group of chuunibyou idiots, he roughly understood.It was probably because those first few guys got wrecked by the Divine Tribulation scarecrows, so they recruited people to help get revenge. Su Xia immediately narrowed his eyes. It seems these guys need some harsh treatment.They need to be thoroughly pushed hard to trigger their defiant spirit and make them wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to the mindset of diligent cultivation...This way, his own benefits would also be greater. Once they''ve been satisfyingly challenged/wrecked, they''ll actively recruit more people themselves, without Su Xia having to wait anxiously.Su Xia decided that in the future, whenever his Divine Domain level increased and he needed more believers, he would issue a mission to thoroughly wreck them once. That way, he wouldn''t have to worry about a lack of new believers. Truly ingenious! "Where are the scarecrows? I''m gonna go kill scarecrows!""Where''s that god you guys were talking about? Tell him to come out so Grandpa can see him!" "..." The newly arrived players either searched the surroundings for scarecrows or looked for traces of Su Xia. As the crowd called out, nine-colored divine light suddenly flared in the distant void.A vast aura washed over them, leaving these players utterly shocked. The nine-colored divine domain aura behind Su Xia rotated gently. His expression was solemn and majestic, inspiring an involuntary sense of awe.Before the scarecrows discovered him, he needed to quickly reap this wave of believers and raise his strength another level. "Holy crap, this is the legendary god?""Whoa, pretty much what I imagined.""These special effects, this level of coolness, it''s even more real than in the movies.""Handsome, so handsome! He''s totally my type, don''t you dare fight me for him!""So realistic, damn f***ing realistic...""I wanna go touch his... things..." The group of newly arrived players got excited!Someone actually ran forward wanting to touch Su Xia''s... stuff. Of course, Su Xia wouldn''t let them touch him ¨C he was afraid of scaring them [likely referring to his divine power or something else]. "Welcome, players, to Miracle World. I am your Main God, Su Xia.""I believe you already know the general gameplay. Here is the contract..." Su Xia transmitted the contract into the minds of these new players. Without a second thought, these guys signed immediately. "Ding! Congratulations Host for obtaining Faith Origin Power +10 +10 +10..." In an instant, Su Xia gained 900 Faith Origin Power. With a thought, Su Xia directly spent 600 Faith Origin Power to upgrade his Godhead. "Ding! Congratulations Host, Godhead upgraded from 2-Star God Disciple to 3-Star God Disciple...""Ding! Congratulations Host, Godhead upgraded from 3-Star God Disciple to 4-Star God Disciple...""Ding! Congratulations Host, Godhead upgraded from 4-Star God Disciple to 5-Star God Disciple..." The Godhead directly advanced to 5-Star God Disciple, and Su Xia''s divine power surged. Chapter 6: Unexpected Gain Host: Su Xiao God Name: NoneDivine Title: NoneGod Domain: 1-Star Godhead Rank: Nine-Colored Supreme, 5-Star God Disciple Believer Rank: The Fourth Calamity, SSR Rank. Faith Origin Power: 0 Upgrading the God Domain space required the Godhead to reach a certain rank and also consumed a large amount of Faith Origin Power, so Su Xiao had to temporarily give up on it. Moreover, the 99 players had also reached the capacity limit of a 1-Star God Domain. Although Su Xiao possessed a Nine-Colored Godhead, making his God Domain wider than others of the same star rank, because his player believers were SSR quality, the space they required also increased accordingly. The most important aspect of believers is quality, not quantity. High-quality believers awakened by powerful main gods could even contend with some weaker main gods. Su Xiao activated the "Undying Godfiend Body" technique, infusing a continuous stream of divine power into his physical body. His body also began a deeper transformation. It became tougher and more impactful than before, with even speed and strength receiving a huge boost. He was confident that if he encountered those scarecrows again now, while he might not be able to beat them, running away wouldn''t be a problem. Dying once wasn''t without gains for Su Xiao. At least, he now knew how to deal with these Undead Scarecrows. The flames on these guys couldn''t be dealt with by ordinary water, and stones definitely wouldn''t kill them. But as time passed, the flames would grow weaker and weaker. The flames were equivalent to the Undead Scarecrows'' energy; as long as their energy was mostly depleted, they would kick the bucket. With Su Xiao''s current abilities, stalling one scarecrow to death was feasible. Dealing with a dozen or so scarecrows was absolutely impossible; for now, he could only rely on these undying players. Therefore, the current priority was to first find the Rune Keystone from the former Main God Temple ruins and establish the Main God Temple. With the Main God Temple, after players were killed (or "abused to death"), they wouldn''t need to log out for a three-hour cooldown but could instead resurrect directly in the temple. Under this infinite loop, this "God Trial" would be considered passed. "Ding! Quest Issued: Find the Rune Keystone from the ruins of the former Main God Temple and establish a new Main God Temple." "Reward: Faith Coins. The faster you complete it, the higher the reward." Su Xiao directly issued the quest to these players through the system. A "ding dong" sound rang in their minds. The so-called Faith Coins were actually the Faith Origin Power Su Xiao harvested; he just changed the name. What he rewarded the players with were virtual numbers. When players came to exchange for items, he would give them corresponding items based on their Faith Coins. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. These items could be things the players turned in after hunting monsters, or things he obtained by exchanging back at the Academy. "Establish the Main God Temple? The story quest has started!" "Holy shit! The story quest finally started, awesome!" "But, what the heck is a Rune Keystone?" The group of players started getting excited. "Tch, what''s so fun about doing quests? It''s not as good as grinding mobs. I''m just here to kill the Flame Scarecrows." "Brothers, follow me, let''s protect the Novice Village! Avenge our fallen brothers!" [Quan Shen Dou Shi Diao] (lit. Whole Body is Carved/Sculpted; often "Diao Bro") roared, looking like he was ready to die, and bolted outside to search for scarecrows. He wanted revenge! "Come, come, forming a party! Daxian will carry you, fly with you, and hehehe with you," [Zhang Da Xian] (lit. Great Immortal Zhang; often "Daxian") glanced at the quest and scoffed. Indeed, doing quests wasn''t as fun as killing monsters. The key point was that getting beaten by the scarecrows was a bit embarrassing, so they had to regain their face. "Put the quest aside, let''s protect the Novice Village first!" The group of players completely ignored the quest Su Xiao had issued, excitedly going off to find Undead Scarecrows. Zhang Da Xian, leading the group, was full of confidence, planning to thoroughly abuse the Undead Scarecrows and reclaim his dignity. After all, having died once, he had already grasped the Undead Scarecrow''s skills and firmly believed he could handle them perfectly. "I have perfectly grasped the weaknesses of these scarecrows." "Let me tell you, the speed of these scarecrows is their weakness. As long as we run fast enough, they absolutely cannot catch us." "But be careful, these guys spit fire. If you''re not careful, you might get melted." "..." "Daxian, look quickly, look! There''s a Flame Scarecrow over there!" Suddenly, a player pointed nearby and shouted excitedly. Zhang Da Xian immediately perked up. "Brothers, don''t steal my kill! This mob is mine. Watch how I abuse it." "Pay attention then, watch and learn my techniques, and you''ll be able to solo scarecrows yourselves." As Zhang Da Xian spoke, he sped up rapidly towards the scarecrow. And this scarecrow also noticed the players and immediately charged over aggressively. "Slick moves!" Facing the scarecrow''s first attack, Zhang Da Xian reacted quickly and dodged. "Daxian is awesome!" "Daxian, here''s a wooden stick, poke its chrysanthemum!" Whoosh... The scarecrow''s attack was dodged by Zhang Da Xian. Seemingly annoyed, its body paused slightly. Seeing this, Zhang Da Xian knew it was about to breathe fire and immediately ran backward. Sure enough, a long stream of fire spewed from the scarecrow''s mouth, reaching a full three meters, almost burning Zhang Da Xian. "Brothers, did you see the distance? It can only spit fire three meters!" "As long as you''re beyond this range when it breathes fire, you can dodge the fatal blow." "Now, it''s time for Zhang Daxian''s counterattack!" "Watch how I use my speed to play it to death, haha..." While explaining to the other players, Zhang Da Xian held his wooden stick and started looking for a place to attack. Swish!But the next second, the scarecrow suddenly accelerated several times faster, rushed in front of Zhang Daxian, and slapped him. Before dying, a smug smile still lingered on Zhang Daxian''s lips. The group of players was instantly dumbfounded. "Holy shit, Daxian is gone again!" "Something''s wrong, seriously wrong." "This scarecrow has a speed-boosting skill! Everyone run!" Swish!As they roared, the scarecrow directly accelerated and charged over, slapping down one player with each hit. "Ahhhhh..." "Why can it speed up?!" "Ahhh, I can''t outrun it, ahhhhh..." Thus, comical scenes unfolded all around, with many players being chased everywhere by the scarecrow, looking utterly wretched. Su Xiao, having searched around for the Rune Keystone without finding even a strand of hair, finally spotted this group of players who were thoroughly enjoying their frantic escape. "I... This bunch of morons!" Su Xiao was speechless. These guys completely disregarded the quest he had issued. "Hint: After establishing the new Main God Temple, you can resurrect within it without needing to log out and wait for the three-hour cooldown." All Players: "???" Why the f*** didn''t you say so earlier! "Quick, find the Rune Keystone!" The group of players started looking for the Rune Keystone according to the image Su Xiao provided, all while running away. Meanwhile. [Quan Shen Dou Shi Diao] ran while crying. "Waaaaah, someone save me! I can''t run anymore! I don''t want to kill scarecrows ever again!" "Waaaaah..." Bang!Suddenly, he tripped over a rock again, fell forward heavily, and slammed his head onto another stone. [Quan Shen Dou Shi Diao] felt dizzy. Damn, I didn''t die from hitting it this time. Looking up, [Quan Shen Dou Shi Diao] suddenly noticed that the stone in front of him was somewhat special. Wait. This looks like the Rune Keystone.