Now that there might exist beings of higher levels than the root, Hao Gongming knew she had to go all out to compete.
Leaving her bedroom in the Hao Harem Sect, she summoned nearly 10 million clones.
Giving them a clear directive, she ordered them to venture into various low-level worlds and bring back all boys over the age of 18 to the universe she had been diligently constructing.
She understood that the fastest way to grow stronger and gain experience points was by expanding her harem.
With her achievement as a Harem Master, her stats and cultivation base directly improves.
Additionally, the system had a Harem Lord function that rewarded her with experience points based on the cultivation levels of her harem members.
Thus, collecting new boys for her harem and sending them to her universe became the most effective strategy.
Her custom-made universe now encompassed a wide array of elemental essences and was vast beyond imagination. Even a small corner of it could accommodate hundreds of trillions of people if properly organized.
As she pondered her plans, she summoned Su, who approached her with a serious expression.
"Gongming, did last night satisfy you?" Su inquired.
Hao Gongming replied, "Now is not the time for such thoughts. Mobilize the entire sect and leave only the bare minimum of people behind. We are relocating to a new world, and we can't transfer the entire sect, we must rebuild it there again."
She understood that moving such a large area might draw the attention of "The Grand".
she had invested significant effort into concealing the location of her custom-made world. After all, once discovered, she wouldn't be strong enough to defend it.
Addressing Su again, she continued, "Su, I want you to be prepared for a steady stream of new harem members. It may surpass your imagination in terms of numbers, but I trust in your abilities."
Su's expression faltered, as he asked shakily, "How many?"
"It could reach the range of 30 digits," Hao Gongming responded.
Upon hearing this, Su collapsed momentarily, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task.
However, after regaining his composure, he wore a determined expression and said, "I will do my best, Gongming."
Hao Gongming nodded approvingly. She knew she could count on Su's loyalty and dedication.
But amidst all her plans, she also desired to explore another high-level world that is far away.
She summoned a clone, and after an extensive period, a portal finally opened. Taking a deep breath, Hao Gongming mustered her courage and leaped into the unknown.
…
As she arrived at her destination, a tremendous suppression engulfed her, causing her cultivation level to disappear once again. Looking around, she was greeted by a landscape of molten red substances resembling the interior of a volcano.
"Is this the true depiction of hell?"
she wondered aloud, her immense strength allowing her to jump upwards for a better view. From above, she noticed peculiar round objects scattered about. Determined, she sprinted towards them, realizing with astonishment, "They really look like eggs!"
Almost as if on cue, one of the eggs began to crack slowly, revealing a creature emerging from within.
The creature spoke its true name and started devouring its own eggshells.
Hao Gongming was left speechless, as she felt fear towards this baby red dragon.
"It's due to the low-level dragon blood," she contemplated.
"The lower the concentration of dragon blood, the greater the fear towards higher grades. And what I see before me is a true dragon, the highest concentration possible. Fortunately, it's just fear and not control."
The dragon, with red skin, turned around and curiously observed Hao Gongming.
Although she sensed a blood connection, its concentration was weak.
Yet, her instincts told her that this being with low dragon blood was still highly dangerous.
Speaking in the language of dragons, the creature inquired, "Hey, who are you, and how did you end up here?"
It possessed inherited memories, knowledge of its parents, and many of their past experiences.
Hao Gongming, equipped with the ability to comprehend all languages, thanks to her skill, retorted, "None of your business."
Without hesitation, she swiftly threw a slavery mark.
Why go through unnecessary complications when an easy solution was available? As she assessed the dragon's strength to be at most on par with Soul Transformation, the slavery mark had a 100 percent chance of success.
The red dragon attempted to evade but failed, and the slavery mark successfully made contact.
She began speaking, revealing the secrets of the place they were in. "This is the Ancestral Dragon Land, the birthplace of all dragons. We are all children of 'The Dragon Eye.'"
"'The Dragon Eye' is what we revere and dedicate our lives to. It is omnipresent and all-seeing, leaving nothing in the universe hidden from its gaze," the dragon explained.
However, these words carried an immediate sense of impending doom, as if her demise was imminent.
Without a moment's hesitation, Hao Gongming made a bold decision. She chose to self-explode, triggering a massive explosion that claimed the lives of numerous dragons and their eggs.
While the destruction was significant, the vastness of the world contained the overall damage.
…
"The Dragon Eye" did not possess a complete body.
Instead, it manifested as a colossal eye displaying seven simultaneous colors: white, blue, green, black, red, golden, and silver.
In this moment, the eye turned its gaze towards a distant direction, and a mysterious energy shot forth from its iris.
The energy traveled closer to Hao Gongming's original universe, but as it approached, a majestic aura emerged, repelling the energy.
It was none other than "The Grand."
"The Dragon Eye" perceived this and ceased its advance.
It then shifted its focus to another direction, gradually closing its eyelids as if absorbing something.
Hao Gongming found herself drenched in cold sweat.
This encounter had brought her perilously close to genuine death. "The Dragon Eye" existed beyond the realms of imagination, possessing the power to erase her from time and space. If she had been even slightly slower in her actions, her demise would have been certain.
She hastily checked the number of harem members she had amassed. At this moment, the count had surpassed twenty digits and continued to rise. Her strength had reached almost 150, and she was accumulating a significant amount of experience.
"I must plunder every eligible boy in the world to accelerate the growth xp" she resolved, recognizing the need to gather more harem members to fuel her rapid progression.
She had a few unallocated stat points, so she decided to enhance her physical strength, pushing her abilities to the level of the Root. Here are the physical skills she acquired:
Root - Absolute Defense: Allows her to block one attack from an early-stage Lord of Elements opponent per day.
Root - Overwhelming Strength: Temporarily boosts her strength by 1,000,000 for one day, followed by a subsequent decrease of 100 points for the next day.
Root - Breaking the Void: Enables her to traverse the void and precisely control her landing location. She can also venture into distant multiverse clusters and catch glimpses of top-level universes.
Root - Ultimate Attack: Grants her the ability to unleash one attack per day capable of injuring an early-stage Lord of Elements cultivator.
Root - Domain Mastery: Provides complete control over her domain, rendering her invulnerable as long as the domain remains intact.
Root - Near Immortal: Allows her to resurrect at full power wherever there is a trace of her existence in space-time or as long as someone remembers her. She can ensure her memory persists in one of the primary streams of time.
Root - Clone: Enables her to create 100,000,000 clones with cultivation bases surpassing the Reality Transformation Realm but below the 3rd step.
Root - Free Body: Provides unrestricted freedom for her body in all situations and allows her to unleash power up to 10 billion times normal when self-exploding.
Root - Slave Master: Grants her the ability to enslave anything, with success requiring her strength to be at least one-tenth that of the target. Once the slavery mark is applied, it becomes unbreakable.
Root - Hidden: Enables her to remain concealed from anyone who possesses less than 2000 times her physical strength.
Root - Cloner: Allows her to clone a target an unlimited number of times as long as her source power doesn't deplete. The strength of the clones depends on the source power used.
Root - Never Give Up: Enhances her strength as her other abilities weaken.
She smiled, satisfied with her new skill, but acknowledged that relying solely on the main tributary of time was not a guaranteed path to success.
With a strategic mindset, she decided to adopt a low-profile approach, patiently awaiting the growth of her harem and her own strength and xp.
...
5 years later
After five long years of waiting, Hao Gongming couldn't help but smile as she glanced at her stats.
Her level had reached 115, and she eagerly awaited the completion of the system upgrade to allocate her free stat points to physical strength.
Meanwhile, her harem had grown exponentially, now numbering in the 35-digit range. Nearly every eligible boy in the local universe group, residing in weak and ownerless worlds, had been stolen by her.
With so many people now inhabiting her world, starvation had become a pressing issue.
However, in the face of her own survival, such concerns took a backseat.
She summoned Su, who entered with a grave and pained expression, reporting the dire situation. "Gongming, we are facing famine! Food is scarce, and desperation has driven some to consider cannibalism. The magnitude of the crisis is beyond words. We have too many people to organize effectively. With the exception of the inner sect, consisting of three billion relatively well-off members, the rest are resorting to consuming each other. Please show mercy and take action."
Hao Gongming let out a sigh and reassured Su, saying, "Don't worry. I'm growing stronger with each passing day, and soon we will invade the mage world and consume them entirely!"
Su was taken aback. "The mage world? They have Gray, a Root-level individual!"
Hao Gongming shrugged off the concern. "So what? Even a Root-level person can be defeated with a single punch."
Just as they were discussing, a system prompt appeared, announcing, "System upgrade completed. Please check out the new functions!"