It wouldn't be fair to consider the Mage World as a single entity. It consisted of a collection of many different districts, each larger than low-level worlds.
First, there were the large Districts from A to Z, with each district owned by a Rank 14 Arch Mage. Then there were the Middle Districts, identified by a character plus a number from 1 to 9, such as B9. These districts were owned by Rank 13 Mysterious Mages.
Following that, there were small districts in the mage world.
Each small district was identified by a combination of a character and a number, along with an additional number ranging from 1 to 9.
The small districts were also owned by Rank 12 Limitless Mages.
Within each small district, there were 26 divisions labeled from a to z. Each division had at least one Rank 10 Mage Lord, and if necessary, a Rank 11 Pioneer Mage would be stationed there.
The Rank 15 Divine Mages held the highest authority and ownership wherever they went, but they were often exploring other worlds and didn't pay much attention unless it was an important situation like a high-grade world invasion.
Rank 16 Twister Mages cared even less about the Mage World. They had other places to be with more resources, so they rarely stayed in the Mage World.
The relationships between mages were complicated, and resources were divided according to the rules established by the Mage Association. Since the agreement was guaranteed by a Rank 16 Twister Mage, nobody dared to violate it, so everything was peaceful.
At this moment, many people in the B96i division were excited about an entrance test for a new academy with a strange name.
According to Mage News, the official newspaper of the Mage Alliance, the academy was led by a Rank 10 individual.
While there were many mage academies in the division, most were led by Rank 7 mages. Those led by Rank 8 mages were considered prestigious, and those led by Rank 9 venerable mages were at the top. Entire mage families would be willing to do anything to secure a spot in such academies.
Hence, it was evident how rare of an opportunity it was to have a chance at an academy with a Rank 10 mage as the head.
The conditions for admission were peculiar, stating that only boys would be accepted, and skills such as art, dancing, poetry, cooking, and other mortal arts would play a significant role in the final score. People were surprised by these conditions, but since many mage academies had their own peculiar requirements, it wasn't considered that unusual.
The test was scheduled to take place in two months at the Mage Alliance headquarters. During this time, everyone was busy training various cooking and painting skills.
…
Two months passed quickly, and the day of the test arrived. This entrance test was open to commoners, allowing anyone who wanted to participate to register in advance and be teleported to the test location. The best part was that the test was free.
As a result, countless people came to take the test, reaching billions in number.
Luckily, the Mage Alliance headquarters had space magic integrated into its infrastructure, enabling them to expand the space and accommodate the large crowd.
People were scattered everywhere, sitting or standing. Some areas even provided food and water for the participants to consume during the test if needed.
Suddenly, the loud voice of a woman echoed through the area.
"Welcome, boys! This is the chance of a lifetime. If you are admitted, you won't have to worry about anything afterwards. Everything will be taken care of by me. You just need to focus on cultivating and following my instructions."
Hao Gongming continued, "Now, the first test is a one-on-one interview."
She summoned 10 of her main clones, and together they began casting the shadow clone skill.
Her main clones, created through a system skill, possessed all of her memories and were essentially indistinguishable from her. Upon their deaths, all memories would be transferred back to her.
On the other hand, the shadow clones only had the memories she wanted them to know, and she had the choice to accept or reject those memories upon their deaths.
The mage headquarters dimmed as more than 100 million shadow clones were summoned. She infused them with a small amount of qi, significantly increasing their numbers.
The clones started moving one by one, engaging in conversations and observing the boys. In less than a day, she had selected 1 billion new harem members.
To be honest, she wanted to accept all of them, but her level wasn't sufficient to support such a large number. She addressed the accepted candidates, saying, "Congratulations to those who were accepted. For those who were rejected, I'm sorry. I hope that one day I can welcome all of you into my harem."
Then she signaled to the mages who were watching, and they used a formation to remove the rejected individuals from the premises.
The accepted candidates gathered together and entered Hao Gongming's portal. She left one clone behind at the Mage Alliance headquarters and departed.
The world they arrived in was not the same world where the sect was located.
After all, she didn't want it to be detected. Using multiple portals, she made more than 50 detours and eventually reached the Hao Harem Sect and placed new harem members on a smaller continent adjacent to their main one.
Hao Gongming snapped her fingers, and Su appeared with a serious expression. He looked around in astonishment and asked, "Gongming, are these people..."
"Yes," she interrupted him before he could finish his question.
Su, now at the peak of the Nacant Soul realm, was able to fly, so he ascended higher and higher.
No matter how high he went, the people below were packed tightly like ants. He returned with trembling hands and said, "Hongming, we don't have enough space to accommodate these new disciples. We don't have enough food or resources. We're not prepared for this many people."
Hao Gongming smiled and patted Su on the shoulder, saying, "I believe in you, Su. And don't worry, we can obtain mortal food from the kingdoms nearby. They are weak, and I can handle them. Additionally, cultivation resources will pour in within a few years. Just do your best to accommodate them for now."
With that, she teleported away with her clones.
Su looked around at the boys who had confused expressions.
His eyes grew serious, and a determined look flashed across his face.
…
Hao Gongming checked her stats and was surprised. The increase in the number of harem members had pushed her physical power to 120. She glanced at the system and saw a new skill, causing her eyes to widen, and she burst into laughter.
"With this skill, my plans can go much smoother," she exclaimed. This skill was the missing piece of the puzzle that she had been searching for.
Divine Slave Master: "Can make anything your slave. To succeed, you must be physically stronger than the target, but once the slavery mark is applied, it is unbreakable."
System notification: "Divine skills are the limit of the system. To go further, upgrade the system."
She looked thoughtfully at the upgrade reminder, wondering how she could upgrade. She had no idea what the system was, let alone how to upgrade it.
Putting those thoughts aside, she decided to focus on finishing her task at hand.
She teleported to Kang's location.
Kang was busy painting a large winter tree and drawing its leaves when Hao Gongming suddenly appeared.
Startled, Kang almost jumped and ruined his painting. He sighed and said, "Long time no see, Gongming."
"Yes, I've been busy. Are the artists ready?" Hao Gongming inquired.
Kang replied, somewhat dissatisfied, "Yes, they have been ready and waiting for two months."
"Apologies for the delay. I was recruiting new harem members. Now, gather them all. We are going to establish an art academy in the Mage World," she instructed.
Hao Gongming considered creating the academy in her current location, but the world was too small for such a venture. Therefore, she decided to take the risk and establish the academy in the Mage World. After all, the Mage World had not questioned her for the world invasion, indicating that they either didn't know or didn't care.
Kang gathered all the people he had selected, and soon they all passed through a portal to the Mage World.
…
Hao Gongming deliberately selected a teleportation location in the capital of the Mage World's division. To establish an academy, permission from the Ministry of Education of the Mage World was required. For low-level mages, obtaining such permission was difficult, but for mages of Rank 5 and above, it was merely a formality and not an obstacle at all.
With her identity as a Rank 10 entity, obtaining the necessary permissions was easy.
Soon, she arrived at a large building that she had purchased and improved to accommodate a large number of people.
She put Kang in charge and left a clone for protection.
Then, she went to the Mage Newspapers and published an entrance examination.
However, this time, it was stated that it was not a mage academy but a mortal academy focused on art.
She planned to recruit the best students from this academy into her harem once they graduated. Entrusting the student acceptance process to Kang, she provided him with a substantial amount of money and then opened a portal to another world and entered it.
…
Hao Gongming looked around the new world. It was a world entirely made of soil. No matter where she looked, all she could see was soil. This was yet another one of those peculiar worlds she had come across. Through her encounters with many such worlds, she had concluded that they were newly created worlds.
Intrigued by this discovery, she decided to research these baby worlds, studying their formation and transformation.
So a few months ago, She left a few clones behind in this soil world and ordered them to dig as deep as possible.
Given its spherical shape, this world was ideal for digging, as digging deep enough would eventually lead to the center. If it had been a flat world, she would have been uncertain about where to dig in order to reach the world's core.
After several months of digging, her clones finally informed her that they had reached the center.
Hao Gongming approached the hole they had dug and jumped in, descending deeper and deeper.
Soon, she encountered her clones, all looking at something with smiles on their faces.
she joined them and saw a distinct round object in the center. This object emitted a unique aura that set it apart from the surrounding soil.
"It's the essence of soil, the purest form that transforms anything it touches into soil," she thought, recalling what she had read in books. In the middle of the soil essence, there was a mark—a slavery mark she put on it.
"That's why everything in this world is made of soil, because of this object. Now, the question remains: What happens if you put the water essence near the soil essence?"
She created a portal to the core of the water world, where her clones had also dug deep to reach the water essence.
The water essence was visible and It too, had a slavery mark.
Carefully, one of her clones near the water essence pushed the two essences together.
Very slowly, the water essence dropped onto the soil source.
Both worlds trembled as a result. The water world immediately began to decay, and all the water in the vicinity started disappearing. Hao Gongming instructed her clones to run away, as that world was on the verge of destruction.
However, in this new world, the soil and water began to combine and appeared more complete. They were highly compatible and soon merged into one.
The entire world underwent significant changes, and in certain areas, small plants began to sprout.
Hao Gongming realized that her initial hypothesis was correct. A larger world would emerge after the combination of smaller worlds, and as the world obtained more sources, it would become more complete.
The spatial dimensions of the soil world started expanding, making the entire world hundreds of times larger.
"Perhaps it would be better if I go to these baby worlds, obtain their essence, and create my own world," she pondered.
Closing her eyes, she visualized a mountain, and immediately, the slavery mark emitted a brilliant light, resulting in the creation of a massive mountain on the surface of the planet.
Hao Gongming's wild smile spread across her face as she exclaimed, "Yes, I should create my own customized world. I will make this entire world the permanent location for my harem!"