Chapter 4: First Victory?

Chapter 4: First Victory?  

Watching Justin furtively promote the Internet Divine Technique to a beggar, Yu Sheng'an's eyes welled up with emotion.  

Finally, a user had taken the initiative to spread the technique for him. It hadn’t been easy!  

To make ends meet, he never thought he’d resort to impersonating a water army.  

But then again, when he considered how some internet entrepreneurs had pretended to be users to chat with early adopters, his own grievances seemed trivial.  

With this realization, Yu Sheng'an’s heart felt lighter.  

Indeed, the Library was the ultimate solution he had devised to overcome users' "Privacy concerns"—temptation through benefits.  

No one could resist self-interest, except saints!  

In weighing his options, Yu Sheng'an carefully assessed the resources at his disposal.  

He realized that the only thing he could exploit endlessly—no, the thing with the greatest marginal utility—was Tang En’s collection of books.  

Moreover, disseminating knowledge, as opposed to the direct bestowal of power favored by malevolent deities, would help cultivate a positive image for him.  

For users, after all, only the power they cultivated themselves would bring true peace of mind!  

To dispel users' "sense of isolation," Yu Sheng'an painstakingly added a Forum feature.  

On one hand, it allowed him to sing his own praises, easing users' wariness.  

On the other, the Forum’s inherent entertainment and educational value would enhance user retention.  

The results proved these additions were the right call.  

Though he had only gained a dozen or so users so far, Justin’s precedent made Yu Sheng'an feel the future was bright once more.  

Still, maintaining the Forum’s atmosphere alone was exhausting.  

Just moments ago, he had glanced at the posts and realized, to his horror, that he had posted so much he’d grown delirious—even writing something as absurd as "just got off the plane."  

Fortunately, the vastness of the Azeroth Continent meant that even if someone noticed, they’d likely dismiss it as some regional oddity—unless there were other transmigrators around!  

No, going it alone wasn’t sustainable. He needed to recruit a water army to help build momentum!  

Yu Sheng'an stood up and paced around the alchemy room, deep in thought.  

Where could he find a water army?  

Should he sneak into the mortal realm and bind a few resentful spirits to post for him?  

Hmm, a viable idea. He’d note it down for later.  

Besides humans, he could also target other races—goblins, elves, dwarves, and the like.  

But according to the books, these races were fiercely devout. Spreading divine techniques among them would be difficult.  

Ah well, he’d jot it down and revisit the idea when the opportunity arose.  

Truth be told, when it came to fostering engagement, the best water army was the users themselves.  

Wait—  

The users themselves?  

As this thought struck him, a gleam flashed in Yu Sheng'an’s eyes.  

He knew exactly how to liven up the Forum!  

With this in mind, Yu Sheng'an mentally summoned Luo Xiya.  

Soon, a "knock-knock" sounded at the door as Luo Xiya arrived.  

"Come in!"  

Luo Xiya floated in, demure and obedient.  

Yu Sheng'an chuckled. "Good, you’re using the door now. If you kept phasing through walls, people might mistake you for Sadako!"  

Luo Xiya smiled faintly at the compliment and bowed her head. "Master, what are your orders?"  

"Have you seen my Internet Forum?"

"This is nonsense. There are only a dozen or so users, and one of them is Luo Xiya. How could Yu Sheng'an not know whether she’s seen it or not?"  

"I have," Luo Xiya replied smoothly. "Congratulations, Master, on your triumphant first victory."  

As she spoke these words, her heart was a whirlwind of emotions!  

No one knew the disdain and scorn she had secretly harbored when Yu Sheng'an first created his Divine Technique.  

She couldn’t be blamed for underestimating it—after all, the technique he devised was utterly bizarre.  

In her mind, Divine Techniques should be like the War God’s battle auras, capable of simultaneously empowering thousands, even tens of thousands, with states like courage, fearlessness, fervor, and frenzy.  

Or like the Music Goddess’s Gong Shang Jiao Zhi Yu, soothing Believers’ pain, hunger, and despair, bringing them happiness, joy, and even blessings.  

Or even like her former master, Tang En’s, summoning technique, where ordinary practitioners could contract powerful demons to serve humanity.  

But what was Yu Sheng'an’s Divine Technique?  

Multiple people communicating online simultaneously?  

Who had that much free time to chat all day?  

The facts proved her right—the so-called Divine Technique Yu Sheng'an created spread poorly.  

His face, longer than that of a unicorn, was proof enough.  

Yet who could have imagined that, within days, he would revolutionize everything by introducing the "Library" feature?  

Honestly, though Luo Xiya had little personal interest in the Library, she recognized its practical value and historical significance.  

It had the potential to change the fate of countless impoverished people!  

However, what truly captivated her was the Forum.  

No one knew just how dull and tedious life in the Divine Palace could be.  

The Forum’s arrival scratched an itch she hadn’t even realized she had!  

Reading the adventure stories of mercenaries was far more thrilling than the travelogues in the Divine Palace’s archives.  

These past few days, she had been practically glued to the Forum.  

Browsing through the endless variety of posts, imagining their stories, she couldn’t help but marvel whenever she encountered unfamiliar terms—like "airplane"—realizing that even as a divine follower, her worldly knowledge was still sorely lacking!  

What shocked her most was that, judging by the number of Forum posters, Yu Sheng'an’s new Divine Technique likely had over a thousand users!  

And that was just the visible ones—those who didn’t post were probably even more numerous.  

By that estimate, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were thousands, even tens of thousands of users.  

The sheer enormity of that number made Luo Xiya’s breath catch.  

And to think, only a few days had passed?  

She remembered how her former master, Tang En, had once boasted that his summoning technique had fewer than a thousand users in its first year.  

Later, to spread the technique, Tang En had openly and covertly helped low-level practitioners contract high-level demons, allowing them to shine in academy competitions and warfronts—only then did the summoning technique gain fame and popularity.  

Without comparison, there would be no sense of disparity.  

Luo Xiya realized that Yu Sheng'an’s earlier grim expression might not have been due to the Internet Divine Technique’s poor dissemination, but rather his own dissatisfaction with its progress.  

No wonder the Contract Godhood had fallen into his hands—he was a true genius, surpassing even her former master, Tang En!  

The only thing that still puzzled her was this: Yu Sheng'an’s Internet Divine Technique required a carrier.

Tens of thousands of users would require at least tens of thousands of Mithril Rings or similar carriers to spread the technique. How did the new master manage to produce so many Mithril Rings in just half a month?  

Most crucially, the Divine Palace doesn’t even have that much mithril in stock!  

Could it be that the users themselves spread it?  

That’s simply unbelievable!  

After all, the Library’s Points feature was only introduced a couple of days ago.  

In such a short time, would people really go to such lengths to spread Divine Techniques just for Points?  

Luo Xiya couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.  

“It’s hardly a triumphant success. Spreading Divine Techniques remains a long and arduous journey!”  

Yu Sheng’an felt a little embarrassed by the congratulations.  

Triumphant success, my foot! With barely a dozen users, what kind of triumph is that?  

But just then, his expression suddenly changed.  

Luo Xiya keenly noticed the shift in his demeanor and looked over with curiosity.  

Yu Sheng’an’s mind stirred, and with a wave of his hand, the alchemy room dimmed.  

Then, the scene from his Divine Perspective materialized on a Virtual Scroll.  

Luo Xiya instinctively turned her attention to it.  

The image showed a village square where a burly elder knelt on the ground. Before him stood a table laden with offerings—fruits, meats, pies, and the like.  

Behind him, a large crowd of ragged villagers knelt in silence—men and women, young and old—presumably the inhabitants of the village.  

“O great Internet God, we thank You for Your merciful gaze upon this barren village. Momu is willing to dedicate all his loyalty to You!”