One month later, many cultivators were working to repair the gates and damaged buildings.

Fortunately, no critical infrastructure was harmed, except for the formation, of course.

Tens of thousands of young people were scattered outside, all mortals.

During this month, Hao Gongming informed all the provinces' cities that today was the disciple selection day.

She cleared the area of nearby monsters and even flattened the ground, creating paved roads to ensure the safe arrival of these mortals.

Soon, Hao Gongming arrived with her three boys in tow. She spoke, using qi to amplify her voice so everyone could hear.

"Hello, everyone! I am Sect Master Hao. You can call me Gongming. According to the numbers you will be given, please come forward."

Her three boys, all at the 10th layer of Qi condensation, quickly distributed the number of placards.

They also provided the mortals with food and necessities so they don't starve, as this selection would take a long time!

The first person to approach was a young and timid-looking boy. He hesitantly approached Hao Gongming, who smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder.

His talent was meager, requiring massive resources just to reach the 1st layer of qi condensation.

However, Hao Gongming smiled and said, "You pass! From now on, you are a member of the Hao Harem Sect! Please go and take a seat."

The boy became very excited and quickly went to the designated spot.

Next was a young girl who was beautiful and charming.

Hao Gongming placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Her talent was better than the previous boy, but...

"You don't have the talent for immortality. You are rejected," Hao Gongming declared.

For Hao Gongming, the harem was much more important than talent, so she preferred boys.

Next, a boy with a muscular body and cold eyes approached. Hao Gongming looked at him and sensed a hint of blood on him. It seemed he had killed people before. She checked his talent, and it was not bad.

"You are accepted into the sect," she declared, but she made a mental note to keep an eye on him to ensure he didn't cause any harm.

Next...

After two full days of selection, more than 13,977 disciples were chosen. Among them, 13,809 were boys, while the remaining were girls.

The girls she accepted all possessed good talent.

At the same time, most of the boys were considered wastes that no other immortal sect would accept.

However, Hao Gongming didn't care.

She looked at the harem member section of the system, and her eyes lit up.

With over 10,000 harem members, she gained significant experience points daily. Furthermore, she would receive even more experience points as they progressed to higher cultivation levels.

She organized them into groups of 50 members each, with a chief and vice-chief for each group.

Additionally, for every 10 groups, she assigned a supervisor. Furthermore, she appointed two chief supervisors, a vice sect master, and 12 elders, all chosen from among the disciples.

With these arrangements, the basic operations of the Hao Harem Sect were taken care of, and its existence was officially announced.

...

Meanwhile, a few members of the Inferno Sect were investigating the death of a Core Formation cultivator from their sect.

The leader of this group was a Nascent Soul cultivator. They gathered all the information they could about the appearance of the murderer and came to a conclusion: it was a member of the Cloudy Sky Sect.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

The Inferno Sect was controlled by the Cloudy Sky Sect, and they had connections to its higher-ups, so they utilized their contacts to identify the culprit.

It turned out to be someone named Hao Gongming, who had left the sect some time ago and never returned.

The Inferno Sect knew that Hao Gongming possessed the power of a Nascent Soul, and they realized they couldn't do anything to her.

However, they still wanted to meet with her to extract some benefits, such as spirit stones or treasures.

After all, witnesses had confirmed that she had killed a sect member for no apparent reason. It was impossible for them to simply let it go.

The group from the Inferno Sect diligently followed her tracks and successfully traced her to the gathering place.

It was announced a month ago that the Cloudy Sky Sect had abandoned all locations in the Yin Province and now relied on indirect forces like the Inferno Sect to exert influence.

The reason behind this shift was unknown, but for the Inferno Sect, it meant access to more resources, so they didn't have any complaints.

They entered the now abandoned gathering place and used a scent-tracing insect to track her.

This remarkable insect could locate anything as long as it caught a whiff of its scent, making it nearly impossible for hao Gongming to remain hidden.

Before long, they were led to the former headquarters of the Cloudy Sky Sect.

The members of the Inferno Sect wore perplexed expressions.

When the cloudy sky sect announced their departure from the province, they also announced that they had lent their headquarters to a new sect named the "Hao Harem Sect."

The Cloudy Sky Sect had described it as a subordinate sect and warned against taking action against it.

Now, these members of the Inferno Sect found themselves in a dilemma.

They dared not disobey the Cloudy Sky Sect, a behemoth with endless resources and control over many continents. However, they couldn't let the incident pass without any consequences.

The killed member happened to be their sect ancestors ancestor's grandson! There had to be some form of retribution, even if small.

But they had no choice. That woman was within this sect, and they couldn't enter without an invitation.

Therefore, they decided to wait patiently for her to come out and talk to her then.

…

A week later

Hao Gongming looked around, observing her harem members as they ran around the sect, busily engaged in various tasks.

A smile formed on her lips. She called Su, who she had appointed as the vice sect master, and asked, "How are things going?"

Su responded with a serious expression, "It's not going well, Gongming. Let me explain. We have limited resources left in the treasury, and we don't have any teachers for the disciples. We would struggle to feed people if it weren't for the food you brought."

Hao Gongming nodded thoughtfully and said, "It seems I should go and get some cultivation resources."

She then inquired about the envoys from the Cloudy Sky Sect.

After establishing her sect, a few individuals came here and introduced themselves as Cloudy Sky Sect envoys.

She had instructed her disciples to accommodate them somewhere.

Su informed her that the highest cultivation level among the envoys was Nascent Soul.

Yet, they obeyed the instructions of her mortal disciples and stayed where they were assigned. They either knew of her cultivation level or assumed she was in the Soul Transformation stage.

Hao Gongming had a mischievous thought, and a smile formed on her face as she instructed, "Take me to them."

She soon arrived at a typical room assigned to the envoys.

Hao Gongming released a small amount of Yin Yang Transformation pressure.

Before long, six terrified-looking cultivators emerged from the room.

They had initially believed that Hao Gongming was in the Soul Transformation stage, but now her aura was so powerful that they couldn't even discern her cultivation level.

The Cloudy Sky Sect was an immense force with powerful enemies, so they were unwilling to send an Ascendant-level cultivator to kill Hao Gongming until they made peace with the Heavenly Road Sect, another influential sect on the continent.

Therefore, they sent a few individuals to negotiate peace with her, hoping to make her a subordinate sect and indirectly gain control over the province.

However, it seems their calculations were incorrect.

Typically, a provincial headquarters would have a Nascent Soul cultivator and a protective formation.

A national headquarters would have an Ascendant cultivator, several Soul Transformation cultivators, and an even stronger formation.

And as for continental headquarters, they would have a Yin Yang Transformation cultivator presiding over it.

In their sect, everyone had a role to fulfill, and there was no surplus of cultivators sitting idle.

Given the ongoing war, they couldn't spare an Ascendant cultivator from another region and send them to this province. And it was absolutely impossible to relocate a Yin Yang Transformation cultivator from the continental headquarters.

If this woman turned out to be a yin-yang transformation cultivator, their only choice would be to compromise.

Hao Gongming smiled, seemingly aware of their thoughts, and said, "I created this Hao Harem Sect, and I have no enmity with you. I only desire control over this province and cultivation resources as compensation."

The envoys cursed inwardly but maintained respectful expressions as they replied, "Of course, Master Hao. However, we have one condition: your esteemed sect must be subordinate to us, even if it's just in name."

Hao Gongming readily agreed, recognizing that the Cloudy Sky Sect's name would conveniently resolve many complications for her, and she will benefit too.

The envoys promised a batch of low-level Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment resources within a month.

Hao Gongming smiled and made her way to her room.

She then summoned a few harem members to attend to her, providing a means to relieve her stress.