The entire continent, as well as the other three neighboring ones surrounding it, were startled at the news of recruits suddenly taking over an entire Barony, and even scarier a level 4 Holy Empire being gift-wrapped and handed to a girl that hasn't cultivated for longer than six months.
While the news of multiple cultivators allying themselves to conquer an entire region through sects wasn't exactly unheard of, the means through which they did were certainly uncommon.

What truly made people gasp in awe, was the woman crowned 'saint' in the Holy Elven Empire.
To backtrack a bit, the classifying system between territories was quite simple. It started with the lowest grade, the villages.

A village was the most basic territory and held quite a small population as well. Even a Basic-rank sect would usually have between five to ten such villages with about 100 to 200 people living in each. The next 'upgrade' would be a township. Simply put, a town is a bigger and more technologically developed village, able to house up to a thousand villagers each. It also has more advanced buildings and access to other locations through Travel Houses. Following the same line of thought next is your average city. A city allows housing for anywhere between 5.000 to 15.000 people and its functions are on an even higher level when compared to a town. For example, even the territory of the Fallen Blossoms sect was barely a town, while the Junior-rank sects are in the same category. Only when six to seven Junior-rank sects pool their territories together and focus on developing such a place as its heart, could they be considered as having a city.

Above cities, there are great cities, capital cities, and royal capitals. Based on a country's territory and how many of each such establishments it has, they are also separated into kingdoms of varying grades. The lowest would be a Barony and such a country would have in its territory at least 500 villages, up to 100 towns, at least 20 cities, a minimum of 5 great cities, and a capital city.

A Barony was currently being devoured by the Peak alliance through the influence of the sects. They didn't have to bother with taking over villages since there was a controlling system based on subordination between them as follows: villages > towns > cities > great cities > capital cities > royal capitals > barony capitals > etc.

Following up on the ladder there were the Marquisates that only held higher numbers of each type of establishment, and only starting from Dukedoms would one require at least 5 capital cities. Furthermore, each type of classification had nine levels. For example, a level 9 Dukedom required thousands of villages, towns, and cities, as well as hundreds of great cities and capital cities. After it manages to rank up to a Level 1 Royal Kingdom, besides huge population and enough territory for them to live in, on required a royal capital that has been developed to a high enough level, as well as other royal cities to govern the remaining territory.

All in all, it was a messy but well-established system that put great emphasis on controlling the chaos and gives cultivators a chance at climbing higher on the ladder. The difference between cultivating in a small town and a royal capital of a Marquisate was obvious due to the sheer amount of resources each has available.
Holy empires were at the top of the chart and only had three other bigger classifications over them, making everyone's surprise at 'Laura' taking over such a huge piece of pie quite obvious.

Back in the Mortal World, the continent which Herman was currently living on was the Central Pilar, again, poorly named since it was on the outskirts of the Immortal World. The reason for it being called that were the three other continents surrounding it: the Northern Dynasty (obviously directly above the continent in the middle), the Rising Sun (somewhere to the South-East of the Central Pilar), and the Riveting Sunset (directly West of the Central Pilar continent).

The Thousand Mountain-peaks country was thrown to the Eastern-most corner of the Central Pilar continent, while the Barony the Peak alliance was devouring was to the North-Western side of it. While Herman could breathe easier due to the absurd distance between the two points, the surroundings of that unlucky Barony were covered in cold sweat.

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The Setting Sun Barony:

[I hope you two have an explanation for f*cking up this badly.](Envy)

[...](Mental)

[I...](Moon Empress)

[*Sigh* I understood that Moon was caught off guard while in the trial, but what's your excuse Mental?](Envy)

[Ehm... well...](Mental)

[Spit it out!](Envy)

Hearing Envy roar at him in an obvious pissed-off manner, Mental couldn't help but look at the girl next to him which had tears glimmering in her eyes. He scratched his head and shrugged at Envy.

[Heard that Moon encountered some difficulties and didn't want her to feel too bad for failing the trial on her first try. So, I decided to fail as well.](Mental)

[...](Moon Empress)

[*Cough* *Cough* You... you stupid bastard! What sort of reasoning is that!? Have you finally gone insane!? F*ck! Harper will skin us alive!](Envy)

Looking at the stupid couple in front of him, he barely held himself back from punching both in the face. The two nimrods that kept arguing at each chance they had, suddenly started courting each other. That was fine and all, but this Mental moron decided to ask Moon out while she was undergoing a Junior-sect's trial... right in the damned middle of it, using the chat function of the System!

Obviously, Moon got flustered and was kicked out of the trial at the very end of it and the nimrod Mental felt bad about being the reason behind her failure and decided to follow in her footsteps. When he heard about it, Envy almost coughed up a mouthful of blood due to anger.
Looking at the other twenty or so members that were doing their utmost to contain their laughter, but were also failing big time at hiding the expression on their faces, Envy felt his anger reaching apocalyptic levels. Harper's well-thought plan might be thrown under the train by these two dimwits!

[Okay, okay Envy! That's enough of that! Mental, Moon!](Harper)

[Hmpf!](Envy)

[Yes?](Mental)

[I'm here miss Harper.](Moon Empress)

[I am not against you two dating, but please be careful so that it doesn't interfere with our plans. Also, Envy. Stop making such a big deal out of it. Soon enough, we'll have over 15 people at the Golden Core Realm and we can continue to devour all Junior-rank sects in this Barony, as well as expanding outwards. Remember that our focus is not on these small-time sects, but much higher.](Harper)

[*Sigh* You're too lenient as usual... But, whatever! You're the boss...](Envy)

[Thank you, Harper.](Mental)

[Mhm...](Moon Empress)

Hearing Moon's barely audible voice due to embarrassment, the others in the room understood that she agreed to Mental's request and started going out together. Whistling sounds and all sort of teasings were thrown their way, making the meeting livelier than usual. Even Envy couldn't help but smirk at the two and wonder how he didn't see this coming.

[Okay, okay! You'll have time for that later. Right now I can't keep the connection for too long, just in case someone decides to monitor me. I've been keeping an eye on Herman and gathered some data about him. I am not sure just how much Spirit Jade he gained in the 'tutorial' phase, but he bought a lot of information that's very useful to us with it. First and foremost, he's gathering servants at an absurd pace! We both know how that's done, so make sure you find suitable partners in the sects we have access to! Aim for the geniuses and get your Favor at max level! That's an order!](Harper)

[[[Yes, leader!]]]

[Mhm! Next, Dwellings! Well... this bastard Herman splurged on a very expensive one, but I am not sure if that's needed. For now, make sure that everyone has bought a space-independent Dwelling of the most basic level. I found out that after buying it, you can hire a Blacksmith and an Alchemist that would craft stuff for each individual at the later stages. Dwellings are of high priority and I am preparing a guide for you as we speak, so you don't have to waste resources. For now, make sure every member buys one!](Harper)

[[[Yes, leader!]]]

[Good! Next up on the list, Beast Sealing. Everyone is forbidden from attempting it until the end of the year. Focus on getting stronger in the meantime and try to boost your cultivation as much as you can. I already sent some details regarding cultivation covenants and dual cultivation to Mental, and he will further explain things to the rest of you. Finally, the trial that Herman accepted from the System. It basically asks the cultivator to face a specific challenge or complete a task in every one of the twenty realms it would provide access to. This is not something to be taken lightly, as from what I found out, each realm is more difficult than the last and the cultivation realm of the beasts and people inside grow accordingly. There's no need to rush with this one either and for now just challenge the first realm available to you. That way you can gain fighting experience and resources at the same time. This will be all, but I will stay in touch. Envy, Mental, I leave everything in your care.](Harper)

[Understood!](Envy)

[Aye-aye, capitan!](Mental)

With the connection interrupted and left to their devices, a conversation started between the members of the Peak alliance regarding the trial that Herman accepted.

[What do you think, Mental?](Envy)

[Hmm...](Mental)

The crowd got quiet and waited for him to analyze all the data and come up with an answer. That was what he was best at among their group, so nobody dared interrupt.

[I think all comes down to attributes. We all confirmed that it's possible to beat higher realm cultivators just because our main four attributes are higher than theirs. I already took a look at my sealed beast and the first level is weak, barely around the Qi Gathering stage. The problem is that it has multiple levels as well, meaning that starting with the second level, its attributes would surely go up.](Mental)

[Your point being?](Envy)

[Think about it! When did the System ever provide us with useless intel? The fact that it shows the attributes of the sealed beast means that in order to beat it, you need higher attributes. Extrapolating from that, I am certain that we need around 25-30K of each main attribute in order to pass the trial of the twenty realms.](Mental)

[Mhm... how did you come up with that number?](Envy)

[Well, also based on the beast. The second level won't be the Foundation realm for sure since there isn't much difference between them. That means that the second level would be a Golden Core realm sealed beast. Its attributes would be at least around 5.000 for the secondary ones and 10.000 for the main one. Now, if it follows the same pattern and the third level is a Nascent Soul beast... we need at least 25-30K attributes to beat it. The twenty worlds though, according to Harper, it increases gradually in difficulty and cultivation realm. That means that we'll probably have to face Ensoulment or Nihility realm enemies in the last 4-5 realms. Judging by the attributes of the sealed beasts, a Nihility realm sealed one should have around 30K for the secondary attributes and maybe 40K for the main one.](Mental)

[...then how are we going to beat it with only 25-30K?](Phoenix)

[Simple! According to the intro of the Sealed Beasts, they are exceptional monsters sealed because of their evil deeds. That means that we shouldn't consider them the average for their cultivation level. Simply put, around 30K in all four main attributes should suffice to cover the test on one main condition.](Mental)

[Okay, okay! Stop with the theatrics and get on with it! What condition?](Pingu)

[A proper ultimate skill!](Mental)

[I see... If we can find a main-attribute ultimate skill that can increase our damage further, clearing the 20 worlds should be an easy task. Do we have any intel on them?](Envy)

[I already had the sects under our control search for such skills and once they know anything, we'll continue on this topic. The main concern for everyone should be to keep the focus on increasing your attributes. Buy the skills available in the Sutras Hall and those with big amounts of SJ can even splurge and get one Sutra for each attribute from the Spirit Jade Hall. Stick with just one for now since we don't know what better options we'll have available later on. Other than that, cultivation is the key! We need to go through cultivation covenants and even attempt dual-cultivation as soon as everyone reaches Golden Core. From what we gathered, dual cultivation gives a big boost to Cultivation Base, but one can perform such an act only three times per year and only once with each person.](Mental)

Seeing Moon glaring at him, he realized that she must've misunderstood something, so he went and further explained.

[Dual cultivation doesn't imply s*x, by the way. It does need a certain degree of intimacy though and it's not possible between participants in the race for Heavens. There is some sort of restriction placed so that we can go through such a ritual only with residents of the Immortal World. Another piece of advice! Personally, I will hold out until later down the road before doing such a thing. My reasoning... well, Cultivation Base increases with each level, so... since dual cultivation focuses on cultivation level as well as one's Perception, I am holding out until I can further increase my own Perception some more.](Mental)

Seeing Moon's angry face calming down, he exhaled in relief. She accepted going out with him, but he was surprised to see just how different she was when compared with the facade she always put up. She was way more fragile than he thought and now that they were in a relationship, he didn't want to hurt her.
Remembering what Harper said about Herman gathering many servants, he felt a headache forming. There was an abundance of female geniuses in the sects and their beauty was on par with Moon's. She was certain to get jealous sooner or later...

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Divine Light continent, Holy Elven Empire:

While the rest of the world was thrown into chaos due to her sudden 'promotion', Laura was currently sitting on a throne and reading through memorials handed over by different ministers. The empire was vast and it faced multiple enemies that wished to take a bite out of it. Now that she ascended to the throne, they actually dared to make a move on her territory, thinking of her as nothing but a little girl.

A cold smile appeared on her face when thinking of the meeting she had previously with the generals of the army. Each general was at least a Golden Immortal and if others would see how respectfully they were accepting orders from a Golden Core realm little girl, they would certainly believe they were dreaming. Nevertheless, that was the reality of the situation. Not only that, but the respect in their eyes reached fanaticism levels.

It all started when Laura underwent a similar trial as the Peaks did in a Junior-rank sect. Surprisingly, her bodily constitution reacted to the legacy crystal left behind by the Elven Empire in every one of their sects, to the point where it shattered into fine dust. Such a reaction scared the crap out of the sect master and he immediately informed his superiors, news that soon reached the ears of the Empress. She immediately ordered for Laura to be brought to the royal capital and have her properly tested, which resulted in the highest grade one could possibly get after the trial: Saint grade!

Even the current Empress which was a heaven-defying genius only reached a half-step Saint grade back in the days and that was due to the enormous nurturing she went through. This Laura girl, however, had a Pure Saint constitution. In the history of their empire, only the founding Empress had such a thing, therefore they immediately diverted all possible resources into nurturing this girl. Furthermore, when they handed the reigns to her of the farthermost region of their empire that was constantly under attack by enemy kingdoms, they were surprised to find out that not only did she have a peerless constitution, her mind was also that of a genius. Be it internal affairs or war, she handled them all in a perfect manner, earning the respect of many of the old monsters serving as generals on the battlefields.

Most of the power was still in the Empress's hands, however, she did make her stance clear on handing over the reins of the empire to her soon. She was getting old and now that a suitable replacement for her appeared, she would gladly step down and become a modest advisor. The life of a ruler is by no means an easy one and after centuries of sleepless nights, the Empress was tired and wanted out. Not to mention that she remained single for the entire duration of her reign and now she had plans to finally get that dumb general in bed with her.

[Interesting.](Laura)

Reading the news about the Peak alliance devouring a Barony in the outskirts of the Mortal World, she quickly glanced through other reports mentioning similar events occurring in the Immortal World as well, with various factions appearing here and there, showing unbelievable talent. With the race for Heavens undergoing, the natives of this cultivation world were inclined to give their utmost help to the geniuses capable of soaring higher than themselves, given that they would be properly taken care of afterward.

[Saintess, urgent news from the Eastern battlefield. Three Dukedoms allied with a Royal Kingdom and they are marching against us. The generals are requesting urgent reinforcement.](?)

[So they couldn't hold on anymore? Those fools! Rather than submitting they prefer dying? Very well! Have the five major corps head for the Eastern battlefield and clean them up. After that, head over and conquer their territories.](Laura)

[Saintess!?](?)

[Just do as I say! Also, send letters to the surrounding kingdoms and ask for ambassadors to be sent here. I want to personally meet with them and explain how things would work from now on.](Laura)

[Yes, Saintess!](?)

 

In a world where the strong prey on the weak, there was no need for mercy. Walking out of the throne room, three beautiful elf girls followed behind Laura as she undid her clothes and stepped calmly towards the Pond of Life. A gigantic tree had its roots burrowing through the entire lake and a thick Primordial Qi covered the surroundings to the point where it was visible.

Looking behind her at the blushing faces of her attendants, she smiled wickedly and motioned for them to join as well. Who said that dual cultivation doesn't imply s*x?