All leagues had their headquarters at the base on the First Peak itself, and their state signified the position of that league.
For instance, the Zheng Alliance, which was a very small group of disciples with about fifty Inner Court Disciples, had much smaller and delipidated headquarters than that of the Big Four Leagues. And out of all the Big Four, the Heavenly League had the most luxurious place.
Its main building was the second-highest structure at the base of the First Peak after the Martial Book pavilion.
Ye Tian Yun stared at this tall pagoda-like structure in a trance as he thought of the coming night's banquet.
Zheng Xiang who was beside him followed his eyesight and also looked at the headquarters of the Heavenly League. After some time, he asked, "Are you going to attend the banquet?"
Ye Tian Yun nodded his head in reply. Then he turned and looked at Zheng Xiang before asking, "What about you? Are you not gonna come?"
Zheng Xiang shook his head, "I did reject Yuan Shuchun, but right now, I am not sure if I will be attending that banquet or not. Earlier when you asked which league I was going to join and I replied that I will go solo, but the thing is, I did have a league in my mind."
Ye Tian Yun was surprised, "Oh? Which league? Don't tell me you were thinking of the Nine Supremes?"
"No, not them. I was thinking of my own clan's league, the Zheng Alliance."
"Zheng ALliance? Well, I don't think they are powerful enough to support you. Going solo or joining that league is the same thing in my opinion."
Zheng Xiang sighed as he heard this, "I can't argue with your statement. At first, I was planning to join them and help out since they were my clanmates, however now, I am having second thoughts about joining them."
"Oh? Why is that?" Ye Tian Yun was intrigued by this.
"Well, the reason why I haven't gone to the Second Peak yet is that I was at the Zheng Alliance all this time. I thought maybe after I have become an Inner Court disciple, there will be some acceptance regarding me, but I don't think this is the case. Nothing's changed, they still treat me like an outsider."
Ye Tian Yun just shrugged while replying, "Well, you don't need to waste your time chasing the people who don't care about you. Go and explore, the cultivation world is huge. You will meet someone who you will be able to trust and call a brother."
Zheng Xiang nodded and said, "Let's head to the Second Peak. The sun is setting soon, the banquet will start in a few hours."
Ye Tian agreed and started his way towards the chain bridge for the Second Peak.
Soon they were on the chain bridge, heading towards the Exchange Hall to receive their Qi Strengthening Pills as a reward from the Inner Court Entrance Hunt.
…
The Second Peak of the Gracious Sword Peak was known for its safety and dynamic power structure.
Unlike the other peaks, where there were many hidden schemes, politics, and infighting, this peak was the most peaceful.
The Second League was like an independent power within the Sect. Its Peak Leader, who headed the whole peak, had an equal footing in the Sect alongside the Grand Elder, just lower than the Sect Leader himself.
This peak was also free from the interference of the leagues. Not even the Big Four leagues could have any power among the disciples.
Though this peak was average in size among all the Peaks, it's population was the least, so it was the most spacious peak of the Sect.
At the base of the peak was the Exchange Hall and Outer Court disciple abodes.
The Exchange Hall was the place where disciples of all peaks can swap their points earned from the missions of the Mission Hall with resources and weapons.
With a constant amount of disciples coming in and out of the building, this place was the busiest of all in the whole peak. It was also the destination of Ye Tian Yun and Zheng Xiang to receive their rewards.
On the level above the Exchange Hall were the abodes of the Inner Court disciples. For an Outer Court disciple to get promoted to the Inner Court, he needed to be at least a Level 1 Alchemist or Blacksmith or Poison Master.
And the place where all disciples practiced was in the level above these abodes.
That place was divided into three distinct areas, The Alchemy Hall, Blacksmith's Boulder, and the Poisonous Garden.
Alchemy Hall was for the budding Alchemists and the most sought after profession in the whole Lower Heavens.
Beside this building were the Poisonous Gardens. This was the place where disciples interested in poison arts could be found. However, the profession of a Poison Master was not a stand-alone profession like the Blacksmiths. This profession moved hand-in-hand with Alchemy. Without the basic knowledge of Alchemy, no disciples could even start playing with poisons because here, a little mistake can prove very fatal and may even lead to instant death.
On the further side of the Poisonous Garden was a special structure, the Blacksmith's Boulder.
This whole place was unique because it was carved out of a single boulder. It was said that the first sect leader, Yuan Xuming brought this boulder from the Barren Battlefield and it was later carved inside-out by powerful Blacksmiths to train young disciples.
Above these three buildings were the Elder's residences and on the top was where the Peak Leader cultivated, overlooking the whole peak.
The chain bridge soon came to a halt as Ye Tian Yun and Zheng Xiang crossed over to the Second Peak.
However, as soon as they stepped outside of the chain bridge, an oppressing voice commanded them, "Halt! Prove your identities and state the reason to visit the second peak. Any falsehood and you will be thrown in the endless ravine!"