The Glorious Transcendent-Chapter 57: The purchase of a new weapon

On this day, an order was issued to cancel external missions,

except for the fortified camps, which were reinforced with first-rank individuals,

and the reconnaissance missions, which were originally performed by skilled first-rank individuals.

Now, the focus would be on performing internal missions,

with intensive training in combat and in war strategies.

Even those retired first-rank individuals who were managing their own businesses

were summoned to participate in combat training.

At home.

"Yesterday, I had 210 units of essence — I’m sure of it. So why do I have 710 now?" Mei Lan sensed her own body and felt something was off.

Last night, Mei Li had given her all of her free essence, which allowed her to reach the seventh refinement cycle while holding 210 units of free essence.

That meant she would have had to work — under normal conditions — for about eight more years to reach the eighth cycle of refinement.

But now, she realized those eight years had shrunk to just about two.

"Did I miscalculate last night because of all those tragic events?" Mei Lan thought, feeling that it might be possible.

Even though one can usually feel the essence once it enters the body, there are exceptions.

In the adjacent room.

Kogan was sitting on a chair, his head resting on his interlocked hands atop the table.

"According to what’s written in their books, if I want to leave this place, I must pass through the borders of either Yang City or Gao City. The distance between these three cities is large — but that’s not the problem. The real problem is the complete lack of information about what lies beyond the borders of these three cities."

Kogan thought about the information he had.

Since he wanted to learn about this world, he began reading some of the books and maps available in the area.

But what he found was very limited: three cities forming an uneven triangle when connected, in addition to the fact that these cities shared a mutual hostility that, in his view, had no clear reason.

And the outer borders were unknown, with no information available about them.

But there were some bits of information — or perhaps it would be more accurate to call them theories — claiming that the farther one goes from these three cities and deeper into the heart of the forest, the more likely they are to encounter humans so powerful that they can fly, and that a single one of them could destroy the three cities with nothing but the lift of a finger.

There were also monsters whose strength rivaled that of those humans — and if it weren’t for those powerful individuals, these beasts would’ve already reached the three cities and wreaked havoc.

Even if the three cities were to form an alliance, they still wouldn’t be a match for such monsters.

The point of all these theories and analyses was simple:

There was no safe place other than these three cities.

And so, the region came to be known as the "Triangle of Safety."

"If the sheep were first-rank and the giant apes second-rank, then that creature by the river must’ve been rank one hundred," he thought, and a shiver ran down his spine.

When he and Hinako fled from the Great Tree, they eventually reached a massive river known as "the Womb."

And that night, Kogan saw a creature so colossal that even the darkness couldn’t conceal its size or its terrifying aura.

It was a miracle the beast hadn’t attacked him—

or perhaps it hadn’t even noticed him at all, given how insignificant he was in comparison.

"I wonder what kind of essence killing it would yield," Kogan muttered with excitement, only to scoff at himself.

"As if anyone could actually kill it."

He stood up and walked out of the room, crossing paths with Mei Lan.

"What?" She looked at him and asked.

But Kogan didn’t respond—he simply walked past her and left the house.

Mei Lan sighed. It was starting to feel like she had gone mute.

There was no one to talk to. During missions, everyone was focused on their work, and words were rarely spoken unless absolutely necessary.

That’s why there was such a thing as a partner.

Each pair would always talk to one another, plan for the future, and discuss anything they could think of.

But Mei Lan’s case was... different. Her partner was more like a statue—he didn’t speak, didn’t burp, didn’t groan, didn’t even sneeze.

This kind of muteness was unheard of in their history. No one had ever been afflicted with it.

And to this day, no one else has—because Kogan was only pretending.

And since Mei Lan had no other choice, she started thinking out loud, just to keep her tongue from going stiff from silence.

***

The city streets had become more crowded than ever.

All individuals below the first rank—the ordinary ones—were summoned, except for those stationed in distant fixed camps. They were reinforced with first-rank members and would undergo training there.

Kogan walked outside to inspect the weapon shops.

And since military training had become the top priority, everyone began choosing the weapon that suited them best.

The weapon and equipment shops were owned by first-rank individuals.

When someone reaches the first rank, their ability to control essence evolves to a whole new level.

Ordinary individuals have limited control over essence; they can only inject or absorb it.

But in the first rank, they can transform essence from its ethereal and spiritual form into a physical one.

Many individuals use this advantage to start their own businesses. After all, reaching the first rank doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll become skilled in materialization.

Many first-rankers rely on these shops to request weapons and equipment.

"I’ll take a look in here," Kogan found a shop and decided to check it out.

He was about to enter when a pair came out carrying what seemed to be newly made shields.

He stepped aside to let them pass, then walked into the shop.

The shop wasn’t large—it was medium-sized, with a glowing essence stone on the ceiling.

Many shiny daggers of various sizes and shapes were hanging on the wall.

There were empty spots too, indicating that many had already been sold. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

On a long table lay several bows.

There were small ones that could easily be held with one hand, and a large shiny bow that no one seemed interested in—carrying it would be tiring for ordinary people.

Behind the table stood the shop owner, an elderly man who looked cheerful.

It seemed business had been good lately.

Kogan glanced at him, then looked at the wall behind him.

There were swords of all kinds—some pointed, some double-edged, and many others with different designs.

’Should I take a sword? Or stick with a bow?’ Kogan thought to himself.

When he came to this shop, he had made up his mind to buy something—but now he was torn between long-range or close-range combat.

’A bow is the better option. I should stay long-range as much as I can,’ Kogan made his decision.

He pointed at one of the bows placed on the table—it was slightly smaller than his previous bow, but it could still handle the same arrow size.

"That one will be 22 essence," said the shopkeeper as he picked it up.

Kogan nodded and shook his hand to transfer the essence.

"Here you go," the seller handed it to him, a smile never leaving his face.

Kogan took the bow and left the shop.

He didn’t pretend to be deaf during this process.

The number of people who entered the shop that morning was huge, and many more were still to come. The shopkeeper wouldn’t be able to remember Kogan among them all—besides, he was just an old man who loved his work.

There were also some shops that operated directly under the city’s authority, and these shops had advanced payment systems similar to essence transfer devices—but their prices were slightly higher than the rest.

For example, the bow Kogan bought may have only cost 15 essence to craft, but the seller added 7 as his profit.

Kogan could also request a custom-made weapon with specific traits and essence density, within what’s possible.

There are weapons made entirely from pure essence from scratch, and this is a very difficult process that requires expertise—plus, it takes a long time to complete.

That’s why most people make hybrid weapons, combining metal and essence—this reduces both cost and crafting time.