Library

The grand operational structure for his sect was laid out by Raju. But for now, it was just theory. Raju had to recruit many people to the sect to actually call it a sect.

"I still don't know how to start a sect, or if there's any politics involved or not," Raju thought, wrestling with uncertainty. "Let's find out more about where I am living, and what politics and geopolitics are going on. If I have a great understanding of this, I will be able to gain a foothold."

Thinking along these lines, he decided to go to the public library. Raju was surprised that there was a public library in this cultivation age. From all the web novels he had read, the sects usually had libraries, and the cities were basically just an extension of the sects, used as talent breeders. Talents were essentially found in these cities.

But here, it seemed that the system was slightly different. To get concrete details, Raju set out after asking for directions to the library.

Walking on the street, Raju learned that this was one of many streets in the Eastern part of Sunset City. This area was called Middle Village. "Who the heck named it Middle Village? The naming sense here is pretty bad," Raju thought as he walked, frustrated with the lack of creativity.

To his surprise, the city was quite large. He walked for fifty minutes, but he still hadn't left Middle Village, and his destination was just the public library within this part of the city. Then he considered the Central area, Western area, Southern area, and the Northern area. If he combined all these areas, the conservatively estimated size of Sunset City would be five times that of New York.

But Raju had no idea if this city was of large, medium, or small size, and there was no point in randomly guessing.

Nevertheless, Raju arrived at the library, only to be blocked by the security guards. These were not regular security guards armed with guns; they were cultivators, and their cultivation was higher than the Prana Stage for sure. How could Raju guess this? He saw the respect and fear in the eyes of the common men and women. He could tell that they wouldn't dare cause trouble in this area.

He approached the entrance, and a guard stopped him, asking, "Show the library pass." The guard was quite vigilant but was not using his power to oppress people. Seeing this, Raju was surprised.

"Hello, sir, I'm new here. I want to apply for a library pass," Raju asked the guard politely.

"Alright, kid, go to the administration section which is right outside this entrance. There, ask the receptionist, and you'll be able to get one. Just a little reminder, if you don't have more than 5 Gold, don't waste your time here," the guard replied and cautioned him.

"Alright, sir. I do have the money. Thank you for your help," Raju replied, gratitude evident in his tone.

Hearing Raju's reply, the guard was a little taken aback. Not many people had 5 gold to spare for a library pass, and those who did were usually individuals with a solid foundation. So, he thought that maybe Raju was a privileged second-generation kid. The guard simply nodded his head, allowing Raju to proceed.

The exchange was quick but meaningful, and it offered Raju yet another glimpse into the workings of this world.

Raju arrived at the administration section of the library in two minutes, as it was just outside the entrance and easy to navigate. He directly approached the receptionist and asked, "Hello there, I want to apply for a library card."

"Hello, sir! Sure, would you like me to introduce the different types of library cards?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes, please," Raju replied.

The receptionist introduced the different types of library cards. The Silver Library Card allowed access to the ground floor of the library, where the majority of books were stored. These books were not particularly valuable and could usually be found in many libraries; they were not exclusive.

The second type of Library Card was the Gold Library Card. This card allowed access to the first floor, where various rare books were stored. These books were also available at certain libraries but were restricted due to political and security considerations.

The next type of Library Card was the Platinum Library Card. This card was only given to special high-level rank holders. There wasn't much information given from here onwards, and as this was a sub-library and not even the main library of the city, Raju didn't expect to find any treasure books stored here.

Raju only wanted to learn about history, and most of the historical records were available on the ground floor and the first floor. Therefore, he decided to buy the Gold Library Card.

The Gold Library Card required 50 Gold per month, and Raju decided to purchase it for a whole year, amounting to a total of 600 Gold. It was a substantial amount of money. Even the receptionist was taken aback at how much Raju was spending at his young age.

In the end, Raju received the Gold Library Card in just 15 minutes. The Gold Library Card was exquisite, exuding a noble vibe. With the card in hand, he returned to the library's main entrance. The Library's structure was grand, resembling a concrete governmental building from the modern world. It had solid foundations, designed to withstand attacks from cultivators.

Seeing the Gold Library Card in Raju's hand, the guard was a bit shocked but let him inside without hesitation.

Upon entering, Raju was amazed by the sheer number of books. He struggled to comprehend how these books were published, what precautions were taken at nighttime, or even how the Library itself was constructed. For now, he could only attribute it to the mysterious ways of the cultivators.

Raju could sense opportunities all around him, gaps in knowledge and understanding that could be leveraged for business. But he still kept his cool, focusing on the task at hand. He located the history section, selected a basic book titled 'The Introduction to the Prana Loka', and began to read.

From this text, Raju discovered that this Cultivation world was called Prana Loka. Its vastness was unknown, a secret that remained elusive. Those who had tried to uncover its full scope never returned to tell the tale.

But from what Raju read, he inferred that Sunset City was merely a small city in this grand tapestry. The thought momentarily overwhelmed him, causing a wave of dizziness. He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and continued to delve into the rich history and lore of Prana Loka.

Sunset City was situated in the southern area of a region known as the Riveting Plains. These Riveting Plains were part of the province called Sunflower Province.

From the political structure of the books, Raju discovered that this area of Prana Loka was ruled by a kingdom called Suryavansha. The Emperor wielded absolute power. Below him, the Emperor had several Kings at his disposal, and he could appoint as many as he wished. After that came the provinces; both the Emperor and the Kings had several provinces under their direct control. While the Emperor could interfere in the King's territories, the reverse was not true.

The Kings were responsible for deciding the Governors of each province. These Governors, in turn, determined who would be in charge of each region, and each region contained several cities. From this, Raju discerned that the political structure was centralized.

However, he became confused when considering the matter of cultivation sects. His curiosity piqued, he sought out a new book to clarify this aspect. To his surprise, he learned that there was an independent body called the Sect Committee that oversaw all matters related to the Sects. From their incorporation to assimilation and even destruction, everything was recorded and regulated by the Sect Committee. Consequently, they held significant influence in the workings of the Suryavansha Kingdom.

'As the saying goes, Power runs the world,' Raju thought. He knew that the people of the Suryavansha Kingdom must be powerful, but what mattered in the end was loyalty to the royalty. Those who bowed their heads were formally called Suryavanshi Warriors, and those who didn't were required to register a sect or clan for themselves to be known to the world as an official organization.

From what Raju understood, any sects or clans that were not registered, yet declared themselves as such, would be considered illegal and targeted for destruction at all costs. This included cooperation between the Kingdom Empire and the Sect Committee.

By now, Raju had grasped the basic high-level structure of the area he was in and the mechanisms of how things worked. Unfortunately, he now realized that he had to register a sect, and to do that, he couldn't do it himself. He had to appoint a Hall Master of the Abhijit Hall.

To accomplish this, he would have to search the whole Sunset City, and if needed, the entire Riveting Plains, for a suitable candidate. This would require power – the power to convince someone to voluntarily undertake this responsibility. He had to figure out a way to accomplish this while remaining mysterious at the same time.

Reflecting on everything he had learned that day, Raju couldn't help but muse, 'What a combination of Sanskrit and Cultivation, with a tinge of Empire mixed in it. Now this is what's called an "EPIC" start.'

Raju returned to the Inn, arriving around 8 in the evening. He ordered dinner and, after enjoying his meal, sat at the study table to list down the things he needed to do.