The head of all the peaks is the most respected and powerful among the thirty-six peak masters. In the event that none of the four great mountain elders can become the sect leader, the head of all the peaks is essentially the first in line to be the next sect leader.

As for Charlotte Carter...

She is notoriously known as one of the greatest scourges of Shushan, infamous throughout the martial world for her heavy drinking, fighting prowess, and explosive temper. Back then, she fought her way into the position of peak master with her formidable cultivation, but the Shushan sect leader never dared to assign her any disciples, fearing she would lead them astray.

In the end, it was only when she went down the mountain to uphold justice that she picked up a talented cultivator, Liam Carter, and finally took on a disciple. No one could say anything about that. It seems she tried it and found that taking on disciples wasn’t much fun, so she never took a second one.

Now, she suddenly wants this only disciple to compete for chief disciple, even to seize the head of all the peaks... Even Liam Carter himself was a bit surprised.

How did she even dare to think of that?

Then Charlotte Carter walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “You don’t need to feel too much pressure. There should be at least half a year left, so just prepare well... If you really manage to win the chief disciple position, your master will definitely not treat you unfairly. Whatever you want, just say the word...”

Upon hearing this, Liam Carter glanced at Charlotte Carter’s chest.

“Ew—” Charlotte Carter’s gaze suddenly turned dangerous as she pointed at him. “What are you thinking?”

“Master, don’t misunderstand,” Liam Carter said. “Your disciple just meant that since you’ve already wagered the Phoenix Spirit Blood Jade, such a precious treasure, I will certainly do my utmost to prepare, that’s for sure. It’s just... this is indeed a difficult task. If I fail, I hope Master won’t blame me.”

“Oh, you were looking at the jade.” Charlotte Carter touched the jade pendant on her chest and let out a sly laugh.

She continued, “Anyway, just treat it as a task. If you become the chief disciple and I become the head of all the peaks, we’ll both get a huge influx of resources... When the time comes, we’ll split it seventy-thirty between master and disciple—wouldn’t that be wonderful...”

Imagining this bright future, she couldn’t help but let out a trembling laugh.

“Jie jie jie jie jie...”

...

Liam Carter walked out of the attic, calmed himself, and set off for his next destination.

Shushan’s main peak, Tongtian Peak.

Among the thirty-six peaks of Shushan, Tongtian Peak is where the sect leader resides in the Boundless Palace, and it also serves as the capital, with all the important sect halls located there.

Liam Carter formed a hand seal, and his bracelet transformed into a flying sword, which shot out in front of him. He stepped onto it, and in an instant, the sword light had already left Silver Sword Peak.

Sword-riding flight!

The wind roared in his ears, and beneath his feet was a boundless sea of white clouds. The thirty-six peaks jutted out from the sea of clouds, some towering, some steep and strange, like ingredients bubbling in a hotpot.

Streaks of light darted between the mountains—these were the Shushan disciples hurrying back and forth. For those who couldn’t fly, it was impossible to get anywhere here. Occasionally, a few spirit birds or immortal beasts would swoop by, and the sword-riding disciples would all quickly give way. Anyone who could afford to keep such massive creatures as mounts was either a peak master, an elder, or at least someone with a powerful background—no one wanted to risk a collision.

Within the Shushan sect, disciples must complete tasks for the sect in order to exchange for the resources they need for daily life and cultivation. The place to receive these tasks is the “Sword Exchange Pavilion.”

In the cultivation world, gold, silver, and jewels are meaningless to most cultivators. So the currency circulating in the martial world is usually spirit stones for forging and refining, pills to aid cultivation, talismans with various uses, and other general equivalents.

Of these, spirit stones are the hardest currency.

So within Shushan, coins made from spirit stones are used as the sect’s currency. In the earliest days, the manufacturing process was quite crude—they simply ground spirit stones into round shapes and cut them in half, calling them “mantou coins” because of their shape.

But mantou coins were too simple, and soon disciples started making inferior counterfeits, causing problems. So the sect improved the process, carving the spirit stones into intricate butterfly shapes, calling them “butterfly coins.”

However, the problem with butterfly coins was that the process was too complex, making mass production difficult, and as the sect grew, supply couldn’t keep up. Finally, the Shushan sect leader at the time came up with a solution: shape the spirit stones into simple little swords and infuse them with a trace of special sword energy. This way, the process was simple and the coins couldn’t be counterfeited.

For thousands of years since, Shushan has used these “sword coins,” which is also where the name “Sword Exchange Pavilion” comes from.

...

Sword Exchange Pavilion, second floor.

The grand Sword Exchange Pavilion actually has only three floors, but its vast area and high domed ceiling make it especially imposing. Most affairs are handled by steward disciples, but every day a few steward elders are stationed upstairs to handle the more difficult matters.

Liam Carter arrived at the private chamber of one of the elders.

“Mr. Sullivan, sorry to bother you again.” As soon as he entered, he greeted with a smile.

“Ha, Little Liam.” Inside was an old man in wide robes and sleeves, plump, a bit bald, but with an otherworldly air and a kindly smile. “No bother at all. You’re back so soon—looks like that last task went smoothly?”

“Thanks to your help, it went fairly well. I’m here today to report in,” Liam Carter replied.