The Glorious Transcendent-Chapter 56: Discussion of future plans

Morning came after a bloody and terrifying night.

In the central palace.

A man stood wearing a gray robe, his hands clasped behind his back.

His beard was a mix of black and white, and he looked like an aged young man.

He was the city’s ruler, Mao Tian.

Behind him, at a round table, sat three individuals — members of the Four Leaders.

One of them had short black hair, masculine features, and sharp gray eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest.

He was Leader Ling Shao.

Next to him stood a man who appeared to be in his late fifties, whose demeanor radiated calmness and comfort.

He was Leader Ho Ji.

On the opposite side, a man clasped his hands on the table, his expression grim.

He was Leader You Hao.

Leader Kai Fu was absent because he was responsible for urgent matters that could not be postponed or ignored.

"Our teams have been attacked more than enough, and now with the attack on Ray Kang’s squad, the matter is confirmed," Leader You Hao said.

When analyzing the number of attacks that have occurred over a long period, the results showed that the rate continues to rise.

Out of ten teams dispatched to carry out their missions, three to four of them fall into ambushes, and the losses vary from one team to another.

However, all these teams were first-rank teams.

A first-rank team means it has one or two members at most who are first-rank individuals.

As for the second-rank teams, there are only four of them, each led by one of the four leaders, and all their members are first-rank individuals except for the leader who is second-rank.

And the second-rank teams have never been attacked before.

"We must admit that they are already one step ahead of us. This can be considered a form of siege. If we continue sending teams out to collect essence, they will be killed. But if we stop sending them, this will lead to a decrease in our essence reserves, and then we will have to cut the salaries of many people. You can imagine what that will cause," Leader Ho Ji analyzed the situation.

He was in his fifties, seasoned and sharp-witted, with a genuine love for reading.

If a child wrote a book, he would read it without hesitation.

He was the embodiment of the phrase: "You can learn at least one new thing from anyone."

When you read from the perspectives of many people, from every layer of society, your mind expands—

The world begins to resemble a Rubik’s Cube.

Each specific color arrangement represents a viewpoint.

And when you gather every possible perspective, you end up with a perfectly solved cube.

"We will stop sending first-rank squads outside. Instead, we’ll focus on developing their combat skills, and we will reinforce the fixed camps, as they serve as vital observation points," the ruler said.

He had been silent, but when he spoke, his words left no room for discussion—they would be carried out without question.

"My lord," Ling Shao said, "I believe the time has come for you to ascend to the third rank."

The ruler turned, his eyes narrowing as he looked directly at Ling Shao.

"Ling Shao... do you understand what that truly means?"

Leader Ling Shao answered calmly, "It means our essence reserves will dry up."

"Exactly. Since you know that, why did you suggest it?"

Ling Shao shifted his posture. "When you reach the third rank, no one will dare to swallow us. Instead, we will be the ones who swallow them, renewing our essence by seizing theirs."

"And what if they do the same?" Leader Ho Ji asked.

"Then their reserves will dry up just like ours, and there will be nothing left to fight over. We will have to gather essence anew, and thus peace and balance will prevail for a long time," Leader Ling Shao said, looking at Leader Ho Ji.

"But they have two third-rank individuals. What if they decide to swallow us first? Surely, that wouldn’t be difficult for them," Leader You Hao added.

But Leader Ling Shao responded immediately, his tone resolute,

"Then we’ll fight, and we’ll all collapse together. We’ll see if their alliance holds once the benefits disappear."

The meaning behind Ling Shao’s words was to not give the advantage to the enemies. Since their alliance was formed because of benefits, we will remove those benefits and take them for ourselves.

And by benefits, we mean essence.

And when the two allied enemies see this, they will realize that their target has nothing left to lose—on the contrary, he now has a reason to devour the benefits of others.

And so, out of fear for what they possess, they too will devour their own resources.

After all, their alliance was fragile—what if their ally turns against them and joins the very target who has now grown stronger?

There will be no choice but to follow in the footsteps of the first.

This is where the brilliance of Ling Shao’s idea lies.

Now that all three factions have drained their essence reserves, it means their economies will collapse.

The precious trees that nourish them with their rare and delicious fruit feed on essence. Once the essence runs dry, the trees will wither and die.

The animals that provide them with meat rely solely on those fruits. When the trees die, the animals will starve and perish.

It was a devilish, suicidal plan—one that could only come from someone like Ling Shao.

Ruler Mao Tian sat at the head of the round table.

He placed his thick right hand on the table, while his other hand rested on his thigh.

"I do not wish for self-destruction. And neither do they.

None of us can bear that. Our history is long, and for it to vanish like this—

to collapse in such a way—is unacceptable."

His tone was calm, steady.

"We lack the power to devour them, just as they lack the power to devour us. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

For now, all we can do is go along with their plan, handling it step by step.

The key is to endure for as long as possible—and see where things go."

His view stood in contrast to Ling Shao’s.

As the ruler, Mao Tian refused to let his city fall.

As long as he didn’t possess overwhelming strength to crush his enemies without sacrificing his city and people, he wouldn’t attempt it.

Instead, he was willing to suffer suppression at the hands of his two foes.

Then, standing from his chair, he spoke one final command:

"Recruit some regular individuals into your squads.

Double the essence recovery missions.

We must make up for the loss caused by halting the deployment of the first-rank teams."

"Understood," the three leaders replied in unison.