Origin City was the largest city in the Origin Region. Being the largest city did not mean that it was the only city in the region. There were major towns and other cities which did not lose out to Origin City in terms of size.
What was different that made it recognized as the largest city was the power it held. Origin City was a city of experts. This was especially for the headmaster who was the most powerful person in the region and he could also compete in the entire Empire.
Another reason was because of its diverse culture due to the presence Origin Academy. The academy itself carried a population that ranged in tens of thousands. This meant that it had people from various cultures most of whom were students.
This also led to its growth as a city. Origin Academy occupied a large part of the city in the first place and even the Mayor was not that powerful as compared to the headmaster who could even order the Mayor.
Though it was largest in this regard, there were other cities in the Origin Region that were of the same size and did not have academies in them. These cities were sometimes occupied by Sects that ruled them.
It was often case where powerful Sects had cities of their own in different regions. Sects were another powerful group other than the academies. After many graduated from academies or reached the minimum requirements to join Sects, which was the Salvia Plane, they often left the academy and joined them.
Though, the academies did not restrict their students at all. In fact, once they reached the Salvia Plane, they were supposed to look for Sects first and join. Though not all academies had these policies, the major ones had them as a necessity.
When students reached the Master Plane, they were allowed to leave on their own to adventure and once they reached the Salvia Plane, they would have to find sects for their own. Though, some Sects only allowed those who reached the middle stages of the Salvia Plane to join them.
One could see just how stringent the requirements for Sects were. These were the major sects though. Some sect allowed those even of the Master Plane to join them but with the standards of the major academies, for students to graduate from their academies, it was a must the join a major Sect first.
It was almost like the academy pushing them on their own now to try fend for themselves. Once one broke through from the Salvia Plane to the Supreme Plane, they would return to the academies and that was when they would graduate.
Here, one would chose to be an elder of the academy or live a life of their choice. It was common for them to join the sects they were in.
One could wonder then, how were sects able to maintain their strength if all those who came would later leave and chose whether to come back or not? Well, the answer was simple.
When one went to a sect, it was common to see teenagers and even kids less than twelve years old there. They were all training and if one checked, they were all geniuses. There were only few problems that lay in Sects though.
Sects were owned by families. This meant that though the sects usually sent some of their younger generations to academies, it was obvious that not all of them got the chance. Taking Rey for example, it was obvious only those from the heir bloodline were allowed to join academies.
Though, it was not a must, they had a choice to join an academy or continue growing in the sects. It was also possible for others from branch families to get slots but there were competition for these slots. The sects did not lose to the academies in any way.
In fact, sects were mainly tailored for specific elements and techniques. For example, The Phoenix Sect was a Sect that mainly focused on fire element and techniques. If one was born within the family, why would they lose their chance to develop faster by joining academies when all they needed was available in the Sect and even better than in the academies.
This meant that there was usually less competition and only a few chose to join the academies and they were often looked down upon by their peers for they were thought of being weak.
Joining a sect had two ways. The first was an entry exam for twelve year olds that took place once every five years in major Sects. The other was being of the Salvia Plane.
These exams ensured that there were great influx of talents to keep the sects going. This also lowered the competition with the academies. Those who wanted to join sects during the exams had to be lucky to be twelve years old. Once you missed the chance, one had to join an academy and join the sect after reaching the Salvia Plane.
Sects were different from academies and it was often one saw many powerful beings coming from Sects than from academies. This was because there was a gap of around two to three years betweem opening the meridian and cultivation.
In the academies, they mainly taught theory and practicals but when it came to sects, they taught both theory and even training their youths. It was often where youths were training the techniques they were going to be using after they started cultivating properly.
***
There were several cities in the Origin region that could rival the Origin City. Though not in terms of power. It came in terms of social and economic activities. These economic activities included trade, which was most prevalent in these cities.
One city though stood out among all the cities in the Origin Region. This city was called Binary City. Binary City stood out mainly because of its wealth. Merchants were known to travel from other regions just to come to trade in Binary City.
Hunters who often hunted in the Origin Forest came here most of the times to sell their products. Many Alchemy shops and even weapons smith shops were here. This was not a city where you would expect to find fresh goods or groceries.
This was mainly because the average person here that could be seen walking was in the Salvia Plane. They would go for a few days without food thus selling groceries and such would only lead to losses. Still, one could not miss the luxurious hotels and accommodations all over the city. Not to mention the many Guild buildings that flocked the city.
In Binary City, many people often came to trade here and rest thus the Guild buildings, trade hubs, accommodations and hotels which were often merged together. This was a city of hustle and bustle and it was difficult to find someone idle.
The dressing of these people was a mix where you could find those who were dressed expensively in suits that were worth a fortune to many. Others were dressed casually and they were mainly hunters who had come here to trade and report to their respective Guilds.
These hunters appeared battle honed and even their face always wore serious expression. On the roads were carriages and it was against the rules to fly in the city. The sun was almost down and this was when the city was at its peak state bustling with activities. Everyone was either in a hurry or busy trading.
It was often the case where you would always find an odd one out. One could not miss the one sticking out the most. One could see a black backpack on his back and blue t-shirt. He was wearing black sweatpants and blue sneakers. He appeared to have stopped and his hair seemed to be fluttering in the evening wind.
Not many paid attention to him but many took note of him. This was because he was too weak. A person in the Cryptic plane was not even worth of their attention. Not to mention the fact that he was a kid not even more than seventeen years old. These were enough reasons to ignore him.
Still in a city like that, it was not common to find anyone below the peak of the Master Plane. This showed just how a Sixth Stage Cryptic Plane kid stood out. Just how careless could his parents be to let him wander on his own in such a huge city. He did not even have guards. That is if he was from a big family...
Many ignored him but it was not everyday one found a clueless kid not aware of his limits. There were many who were just willing to take advantage of them. It appeared that the group of around ten had been following this kid for a while.
The would often hide behind alleys or pretend to be buying something. Still, they did not take action because there were guards on patrol. Their eyes often darted to him and they could all tell that he was lost. One guy with black hair and wearing a black mage robe decided to be a good samaritan and help the lost kid.
He took a step forward and coincidentally, the kid they were following just happened to start moving and heading to a hotel. The black robed guy whose face could not yet be seen signalled the rest with his palm and he too walked into the hotel...